Blackbird
by thebluefrenchhorn
Summary: On March 18th, 1999, Charles zi Britannia is found dead in his quarters, his wrists sliced open in a display of what can only be considered suicide. The world will never be the same.
1. Chapter 1

**Blackbird**

 ** **Chapter One****

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

 _ _On March 18th, 1999, Charles zi Britannia was found dead in his quarters, his wrists sliced open. Before him, hair spread out like a dark halo and neck twisted in a decisively unsurvivable manner, lay the mutilated corpse of his fifth wife.__

 _ _As the tide of history turns, swallowing them beneath its murky waves, the world roars…__

Kururugi Suzaku knew he was going to die. He knew it as he knew his age, nineteen, and shade of his late mother's eyes. However, he was not going to die today, for Suzaku had one thing that his opponent did not - something to live for.

The fight was fast-paced, Suzaku pressing hard on the offensive as his opponent bobbed and weaved. She was a nimble thing and perhaps the dirtiest fighter he had ever been pit against.

There weren't necessarily rules in the dingy little fighting pit that housed the forefront of Western Britannia's human trafficking; in fact, quite the contrary. But, Suzaku had grown accustom to the animalistic desperation that overtook the majority of his opponents and the slim figure before him was anything but that. She fought with a variant of cold rage, anger bubbling just beneath the surface as if the very existence of Suzaku angered her despite this being their first encounter. Suzaku ignored it; after all, an opponent was an opponent and he was determined to make it out of this alive.

As his fist shot forward, colliding hard with her shoulder, Suzaku blinked in surprise, for as the girl fell backwards, so did he. Somehow, in the midst of his attack, she had swept his legs from beneath him, sending both of them crashing towards the cold, hard cement below them.

Before he knew it, Suzaku was beneath her.

"You can straddle me instead after this fight," one of the spectators jeered, his eyes taking note of their current position. "Even a whore like you can do better than some Japanese scum."

As one hand fisted itself in Suzaku's hair, yanking it, the other struck Suzaku with anger. "I'm Japanese, asshole," she hissed, her voice sharp. "And once I'm done with him, I'm going to beat you into a bloody pulp."

Capitalizing on the sudden distraction, Suzaku lurched forward, smashing his head into hers. She fell backwards into a heap and although Suzaku was certainly going to feel that tomorrow (assuming that he were to survive), adrenaline propelled him onwards as his fist collided with her jaw, pushing the redhead even further away.

They were on their feet in an instant; although, the girl certainly looked a bit worse for the wear. Clearly disoriented, she did little to stop Suzaku's following hit and took both his punch and subsequent kick face on.

If they were perhaps better nourished and not living off the pitiful handfuls of scraps that somehow constituted as a meal in the eyes of their capturers, maybe the fight would have lasted longer. But, for all her determination, Suzaku knew that his opponent could only hold on for so long. Hit after hit rained down upon her, but she stood fast, eyes narrowed as she used her remaining strength to lash out at Suzaku, landing a punch here or there.

It wasn't enough.

The crowd knew it wasn't enough.

And, like animals, they pushed forward towards the cage, howling with glee and growing more rambunctious as the apparent end was drawing near.

"Rip her heart out!" a voice shouted.

"Make her beg for it," a rather sadistic spectator said, his eyes tracing over the girl's body until settling upon her chest. "Get her on her knees."

Ignoring them, Suzaku approached the girl.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he wrapped his hands around the girl's neck, her feeble attempts at escape coming nowhere close to breaking his grip. His green eyes were filled with remorse, for Suzaku was truly sorry - he always was. Sorry that these beings, barely living and certainly not considered human, were to die, slain by his own hands, and even more sorry for the light, the flicker of hope and determination that was the girl he slowly strangled to death. Suzaku was selfish. Suzaku wanted to live. "I hope you can find peace."

Just as her eyes began to roll backwards, a shock ran through Suzaku and he immediately released her. Like the strings of marionette being cut, she fell limply onto the ground, her head lolling to the side. Disregarding her still form, Suzaku glanced confusedly from his bracer, a variant of the shock collar, and up into the stands where disappointed faces and a portly man hobbling forward greeted him.

Nothing like this had happened before, especially never at the climax of a fight. Nobody wanted to end the entertainment, Suzaku thought angrily, not when the kill was the best part.

But, ended the fight was and Suzaku felt his entire world warp as the man approached the fighting cage, beady eyes full of panic and mouth set into a weak smile. "Ah, today's your lucky day...ya' see, ya' have a buyer."

* * *

 ** **Disclaimer:**** I hold no authorization towards the Code Geass fandom

 ** **Author's Note:**** So, I haven't written fanfiction in awhile, but I've recently started rewatching Code Geass and this idea just ran into my head. What would happen if Charles zi Britannia died before the plot could even take off? The concept is probably about as taboo as one could get in this fandom, but I was pretty interested in exploring the technicalities of finding a suitable replacement for him. Plus, I like politics soooooo, this might just be one gigantic guilty pleasure for me ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ . Also, this is kind of a testing chapter (which is why it's not that long) to see how interesting you guys find this idea, so I'd really appreciate the feedback. As always, thanks for checking my story out and I hope y'all have a nice day :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Blackbird** ****

 ** **Chapter Two****

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

The first thing Suzaku noticed about him was his height.

Enigmatically tall, even for a Britannian, his mere presence seemed to dwarf the once insurmountable greed of the ever avaricious kingpin of human trafficking, Alden Pollux. That, however, was where the extraordinary stopped and the ordinary became only more apparent. Despite his outlandish stature, the man was distinctly plain with close-cropped hair, mud-colored eyes, and an unruly beard that covered the vast majority of his lower face. It was a mesh of such generic features that if it was not for his height, he would have been entirely forgettable.

Entirely forgettable, to such an extreme, that the man appeared to be consciously trying to invoke this reaction.

Now, Suzaku was not much a strategist, but he had sat through enough war councils to be able to recognize a threat when he saw one and his apparent buyer was certainly far more important than his mundane appearance suggested - a thought that Pollux clearly shared if his nervous expression was any indication.

"So, d'ya have it?" Pollux asked, a weak smile upon his face as he strained his neck to peer upwards into the stranger's murky eyes. As tall as the buyer was, Pollux was equally as short.

The man merely raised an eyebrow in response.

"You know," Pollux pressed, beady eyes darting back and forth as he seemed to internally grapple with his desire for money and understandable wariness towards his client.

"I'm afraid that I don't know," came the man's voice, crisp and only adding to aura of apprehension that Pollux's nervous ramblings had created. It was surprisingly elegant and Suzaku would have been taken back if he was not so on edge - being sold to the highest bidder tended to do that to an individual.

"The money." Pollux's voice cracked and perhaps in another life, a life in which Suzaku had not seen Britannia's cruelty so up close and was certainly not nearly as jaded, he would have felt pity for the man's state, thought him to be redeemable; however, Suzaku was jaded and as Alden Pollux gazed at him with desperate eyes, he looked the other way.

"I don't believe I will be needing that," the man said. "You see, Mr. Pollux, I know exactly what type of man you are. A brilliant one? No; but, one that is certainly smart enough to maintain such a rather lucrative empire in relative secrecy. I would presume it'd be your intention to leave it that way; however, if you don't allow me to leave today, my purchases in tow and not a cent within your grasp, I will have your, uh, business plastered upon every news report from here to the Atlantic. Now, we both know that Emperor Nikkolas has no qualms with your industry; however, if the east was to find out fury akin to the wrath of God would reign down upon you." He paused, taking in Pollux's resigned expression. "I am certain you will make a decision advantageous to the both of us."

Wordlessly, Pollux handed over the remote to Suzaku's bracer, along with the girl's, then a small baggy that Suzaku assumed contained the keys for said bracers.

With a pleasant smile, though Suzaku thought it looked more like a self-satisfied smirk, the man threw the redhead over his shoulder motioned for Suzaku to follow them.

In a bit of a daze, he obeyed.

After all those years of being caged like an animal and forced to fight for the twisted amusement of his Britannian spectators, he was finally going to see the sun again. For a second, he was almost able to forget about the circumstances that brought him here, particularly the enigmatic man that had just removed him from the hellhole that had been Suzaku's never ending nightmare. Those few moments of peace, however, were soon ruptured by what was perhaps the most offhanded and out of place line that Suzaku had ever heard:

"So, have you played chess?"

* * *

Suzaku had not played chess, nor did he particularly care to learn as he sat uncomfortably in a rather lavish hotel room, an antique chess set before him.

His buyer, who he had requested to be addressed as "El" - a name that Suzaku highly doubted was anything more than an alias, had engaged him in a chess match, having said that he would explain everything once the redhead woke up.

Part of Suzaku wanted his former opponent to wake up, therefore relieving him of a match that was evidently going to result in him losing; but, he immediately regretted that thought when the girl's first reaction to regaining consciousness was attempting to strangle him.

"Now, we're all friends here," El said softly, as if he was talking to an injured animal and, perhaps, that was what she and Suzaku were - animals that had been ripped apart and destroyed, sewn back together and expected to act the same despite the fact that they were ripping at the seams.

"All friends," the girl shrieked, clearly in a state of panic as she looked wildly around the unfamiliar setting. "He...he almost KILLED ME!"

"He was only trying to survive, as were you," the Britannian said calmly, prying the girl off Suzaku before gently setting her down, his grip still firm enough to keep her from trying to claw off Suzaku's face once more. "My name is El and I believe we have a lot to talk about."

The girl looked up, meeting his gaze defiantly despite the fact that she still appeared to be rather unsettled. "My name," she said and Suzaku was surprised by how strong her voice was, "is Kozuki Kallen."

El smiled pleasantly. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you Kozuki-san. Would you mind taking a seat beside Kururugi-san?"

Suzaku blinked in surprise, both by the girl's, Kallen's, quiet obedience along with El's usage of Japanese honorifics despite the fact that he was clearly a pureblood Britannian. It had certainly been thoughtful of him; but Suzaku suspected that some sort of ulterior motive had spurred it on.

"Now, I'd very much like to say that I rescued both of you out of the goodness of my heart; however, I would much rather prefer to create a partnership that is as honest as possible, so, if it is not too bothersome, I am going to be rather frank with the two of you." El stated smoothly.

Kallen bristled. "How do you expect us to participate in a "honest" partnership with you when you're clearly using an alias and haven't removed our bracers."

"Very good point Kozuki-san; however, let me ask you, would you send a child out into the world to fend for itself?" El responded.

She shook her head.

"So, why do you expect me to release you into an unfamiliar environment while you are still recovering from your trauma?" El said. "To assume so is rather ignorant and I do not believe either of you to be ignorant individuals, especially after what you have experienced."

El stood up leisurely, his inquisitive gaze never leaving them.

"I wish to acknowledge the horrors that have been thrust upon you, which is why I am choosing to speak upon my goals before delving deeply into either of your pasts. At the very least, you deserve to hear what I want of you prior to laying your demons bare."

Despite the fact that El appeared to be a thoughtful man, there was still something about him that unnerved Suzaku. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but somewhere between the perfect diplomacy and apparent superior intelligence, Suzaku had realized that he way over his head. Suzaku's instincts had never failed him before, so he didn't see why they would be wrong about this.

"So, before anything reaches an intimate level, I would like to plainly state my objective." His eyes were cold as he regarded them, the previous softness washed away and replaced by stony determination.

"I am going to overthrow Britannia."

* * *

 ** **Disclaimer:**** I hold no authorization towards the Code Geass fandom

 ** **Author's Note:**** I'm not sure if this is my ideal length yet; but, I'm still in the developing process of this story so that's alright. I'm honestly pretty humbled by the interest shown in this story along with the wonderful insights some of my readers had. I know, to some, 16 follows doesn't seem like much, but it means so much to me that people are showing an interest in my writing. As for my writing itself, I'm getting pretty hyped on the plotline and all the different ways I can spin things. I'm a fan of irony, so keep your heads up for some role-reversal stuff, because there's going to be a lot of that in this story. As a clarification of some sort, Geass will be included in this story; however, the readers only know as much as Suzaku knows, soooooo you might not hear about it for awhile. Really, it just depends on how soon I want him to come into contact with it. But, it's definitely in this story, so don't count it out or anything. The characters might seem a bit OOC and that's intential and a result of this being an AU. Charles's death certainly changes a lot of things, some more obvious than others. Wow, I've kind of started rambling and I'm probably sounding redundant by now, but I'd also really appreciate feedback on this plot progression since I'm still trying to get the hang of this thing. On a different note, I really need to update my profile and make it more interactive, but that's not really relevant to the story so we're going to put a pin in that. Almost forgot, but updating! Yes, updating! That's pretty important so I should probably cover it. Will my updates be consistent? No, they will not. I'm a pretty active person and with my school year coming up and fall sports having started, I'm going to be wicked busy. However, I'm going to try my best to stay on top of this story and not leave you guys hanging for too long. As always, thanks for taking the time to check my story and until next time!

 ** **leverpulledbyKronk:**** Thank you so much and this story is most definitely going to continue being wild from start to finish ;)

 ** **DigiXBot:**** Yeah, it was tricky finding a way to include him; but, I've stumbled upon a concept I really like, so Lelouch is bound to pop up soon.

 ** **Guest:**** You're reading a fanfiction set in an alternate universe in which Charles died prior to the plot of Code Geass.

 ** **Rilliane:**** I just want to start off with mentioning how much I enjoyed reading your review. I absolutely love how your mind works and means a lot that someone was willing to analyze something I wrote so in depth. Lelouch will appear in the story and who he's living with definitely has a large impact upon the plot; however, I don't want to say too much and end up spoiling the reveal teehee :)

 ** **Raevinederont1:**** Well, I don't want to necessarily spoil Lelouch's entrance; but, I'd love to hear your opinion on his appearance. Thank you for the review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Blackbird**

 ** **Chapter Three****

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

Suzaku froze, staring wide-eyed at the man before him. There was no way he could have heard that right. Sure, it wasn't as if he was adamantly against the idea; in fact, he was more apt to condone it, but it just didn't seem plausible.

Ever since that day, all those years ago, he had made it his goal to annihilate the Britannian Empire and for it to be handed to him on a silver platter, especially after escaping the ring of human trafficking that he had been subjected to by the very same empire. Why, it seemed far too good to be true.

It had to be too good to be true.

People like Suzaku just didn't get opportunities like this.

The eloquent "WHAT," he released summarized this much.

"Perhaps overthrow is a dramatic word," El corrected swiftly and if he was amused by Suzaku's reaction he didn't show it. "I simply wish to sway the masses into my favor. You see, Britannia has had a civil war for a long time coming, particularly after the political assassination of Prime Minister Kururugi, something I believe you know quite a great deal about." He pointedly looked at Suzaku. "I merely wish to back the morally correct side and, to be more accurate, the side I believe is projected to win."

At this, Kallen leapt out of her seat, her anger evident. "So, you're only doing this for political gains," she spat. "You don't care about the marginalized peoples nor the rampant oppression that has been prevalent in Britannia for the last decade. All you care about is an easy victory."

"Now, I didn't say that," El interjected cleanly. "My aim is to liberate the individuals who have fallen victim to Britannia's harsh and often discriminatory policies. However, I would rather not engage in mindless conflict if it can be helped, which is why I'm choosing to act now. Ideals aside, I refuse to back a side that has no apparent sign of winning."

"That's just despicable," Kallen hissed.

"Some might see it that way; however, I see it as a sign of intelligence."

He looked utterly at ease as he settled himself back into his chair, his lips ever so slightly stained by the dark pigmentation of his wine.

"Wouldn't you agree, Kururugi-san," El added, looking pointedly at Suzaku.

"Yes, I do," Suzaku said. As he gazes upon his current companions, he felt the need to justify his statement. "On June 3rd, 2015 at exactly 11:06 a.m., the prime minister of Japan, Kururugi Genbu, was killed as an act of political assassination - I should know, I was there."

He paused, and when Kallen's eyes alight with hesitant sympathy, he realized that she was beginning to understand - beginning to understand that Suzaku wasn't just some relative of Kururugi's, but his son.

"It was intended to be a diplomatic meeting," he continued. "A tad unexpected, but welcome, considering the rising political tension between the two nations. My father he - he thought he was going there to create peace and Britannia, well, all they wanted to do was use him for target practice the minute his - our - plane touched down."

He stopped once more and it was not out of sadness, but rage. Suzaku had long since gotten over the initial shock of being orphaned at the age of fourteen and any emotion he had in regard to the event was anger and a thirst for vengeance.

When he was younger, he had been idealistic, believing that Britannia could be redeemable, that if one was to look hard enough they would find a shard of light in its cold, twisted heart.

He had begged his father to send him to an elite boarding school in Pendragon, citing it as a diplomatic move and, despite his reputation as a strict and stubborn individual, Prime Minister Kururugi just couldn't say no to his only son, and so, Suzaku got his way.

The capital had seemed lavish then, a tiny paradise in the middle of a barren dessert. The place where he met what he once thought to be his greatest and most trusted friend.

Now, in hindsight, Suzaku could see it for what it really was: a symbol of Britannia's insurmountable greed that grown men and women danced in and out of as they sealed the fates of their lesser counterparts - a playground for the rich.

A playground that Suzaku wanted to tear down piece by piece.

Something that he had tried, yet ultimately failed to achieve.

"You don't have to go on," Kallen said, interrupting Suzaku's internal musings. "You don't have to go on if it's too personal."

Suzaku shook his head. This was important - this was something that had to be said.

"For the longest time I wanted to make them pay. I still do," he admitted. "But, it wasn't the smart choice. Sure, the Japanese would have rallied as a means of avenging the prime minister, but Britannia wasn't nearly divided enough for there to be an effective revolt. But, that didn't matter to me and I - I…"

"You tried to enact your own coup d'état," El finished for him, a knowing look upon his face.

Suzaku sighed. "I was just so dumb, so terribly naïve, thinking that if I wanted it badly enough, everything would work out in my favor and I, a tiny fourteen-year-old in a nation that considered me a second-class citizen at best, would actually have a shot at overcoming its prejudice."

He flinched as a hand settled softly on his shoulder and, although he didn't look up, he knew it was El's.

"But, that is not your fault, Kururugi-san," the man said, his voice comforting to Suzaku. "You were only a child, one that was a newly christened orphan in a nation that never even gave you a chance. Far greater men have deluded themselves into believing that systematic oppression can dissipate overnight."

"Yes, but I was doing it for all of the wrong reasons," Suzaku murmured. He didn't have to go on for either Kallen or El to understand. By now, both of them were well aware of the fact that Suzaku had begun his initial campaign as a form of revenge rather than intentionally liberating the minorities of Britannia.

"I thought hurting them would make me feel better," he admitted, and although the sympathetic look El gives him is reassuring, Suzaku knew his strange rescuer didn't agree with him in the slightest. "But all it got me was a one-way ticket to the Britannian underground."

"And that is why I have waited until now to act," El asserted. "I refuse to have Britannians die in vain for a lost cause or be subjected to human trafficking."

Suzaku could tell by the look in Kallen's eyes that she wasn't satisfied with the man's response; however, her desire to take down Britannia evidently won over when she dipped her head slightly in response.

"I'll help you, but I have few conditions," she stated.

"Splendid. I'm sure we can cover your conditions at another time," he proposed, not giving her time to interject as he turned to Suzaku. "As for you?"

"I'll join," Suzaku decided. He wasn't necessarily sure if there even was another option.

"Well, this is magnificent. As for how you'll be reaching my associates…"

* * *

A train was not the mode of transportation that Suzaku had expected to be in use by a clandestine organization.

A private jet? Yes.

A motorboat? Perhaps.

But, not a train.

The transportation was pleasant enough and as soon as Kallen and Suzaku had shown the conductor their tickets, they had been ushered into a private compartment, one that was somehow a top one of the train cars, where the staff was currently treating them like gods.

 _ _How one could build a secret compartment a top a train car while still having it remain secret and the train__ __aerodynamic__ , eluded Suzaku. He would much rather spend his time relaxing for the first time in four years than figuring it out.

Besides, he had far more important developments, such as Kallen's newfound interest in him.

She had been eyeing him with a rather thoughtful expression upon her face for the entirety of their current train ride, making it awfully difficult for him to fully appreciate the heavenly deep tissue massage that he had been treated to.

"Yes?" he finally inquired, looking at the girl.

Instantaneously, she turned bright red, the color clashing horribly with her hair.

"Sorry for staring," she said, scratching her neck nervously. "I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone and if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Suzaku blinked in surprise before a tiny smile settled across his face. It appeared that sharing his history had not only reasoned with the Britannian half-blood, but had also endeared himself to her. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"Well, we Japanese have to stay together," she laughed. At the sound of her light snickering, all the tension that had built up inside of him seemed to dissipate from Suzaku.

"That's true," he replied. "You never know with Britannia. Apparently, Emperor Nikkolas has declared a war on eastern food, but you didn't hear that from me."

At this, Kallen almost fell over, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

"What does he think we're going to do? Drown him in rice?"

Suzaku shrugged his shoulders. "There's been weirder things in history."

It wasn't a lie.

There had been weirder things in history.

Such as two Japanese teenagers bonding over their mutual distaste for an autocratic ruler as they awaited their introduction into a clandestine organization.

But that wasn't exactly history yet, was it?

* * *

 ** **Disclaimer:**** I hold no authorization towards the Code Geass fandom

 ** **Author's Note:**** Wow! My longest chapter yet, with the story soon moving from exposition to plot. Oh, boy, this going to be one hell of a ride, folks. So, Suzaku's backstory has been created and his character's slight difference in ideology (read: actually having a will to live) explained. No appearance of Lelouch yet, but perhaps my more perceptive readers can spot the small reference I made to him. His entrance is really shaping up to be quite an interesting reveal which I'm excited for. To be honest, I'm not sure how long this story is going to be, but probably not excessively lengthy since I actually want the motivation to complete it. Just try to think of a happy median (if that's possible - I think we all have different lengths we consider 'medium', but I had to try). As always, thank you for taking the time to checkout one of my stories - my life has currently just been Cross Country and checking to see who's left a review on my page. Constructive criticism and insight is always welcome, but don't feel obligated. Have a fantastic day :)

 ** **ryder77:**** Great observation!

 ** **Guest:**** Haha, you're right about that one. It's usually hard for me to write a second chapter, but this one just kept coming. I've found that it's easier just to start where you want to start instead of trying to get all technical and build-up to it. I don't think that made much sense, but I tried ;)

 ** **DigiXBot:**** Ohhhh, yes, a lot has been done to keep Odysseus and Schneizel off the throne; but, really, what can you expect a nine year-old and a political idiot to do when they're up against their conniving relatives? The way I see it, Charles was probably a new emperor around 1999, so he hadn't yet worked up the nerve to kill of the majority of his cousins as he presumably did in canon. Sure, enough are removed that he had a shot at the throne; but, at this point, there's still plenty of them around to capitalize on his untimely demise.

 ** **Mysticinfluener97:**** Yep, we will definitely be delving into just what exactly happened to Charles during his death.

 ** **Rilliane:**** Britannia is definitely divided with their rather late "American Civil War" on the horizon. As for Lelouch's appearance...well, I hope you like the little Easter egg I left in this chapter about that ;)

 ** **Guest:**** Thank you so much!


	4. Chapter 4

**Blackbird**

 ** **Chapter Four****

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

"Amnesty International. You're telling me that this clandestine organization we're about to join is based at Amnesty International."

Suzaku shrugged, eyeing the tiny business card El had slipped them prior to their departure. Neatly printed upon it in tiny, almost eligible script, was the address '5 Penn Plaza' - their current location.

"I guess so," he answered.

In response, Kallen let out a small huff, crossing her arms in annoyance. Her cobalt blue eyes narrowed as they traced the the lofty building before them.

Suzaku suspected that her displeasure would soon pass. Having been in close-quarters with the redhead for nearly two weeks, he had eventually become aware of a small handful of her quirks, one being her rather short-temper and to a further extent, impulsiveness. Kallen got angry, she got defensive, and then she got over it.

It was not as if she didn't hold grudges; because, she most certainly did. Suzaku was already well aware that she had some sort of complex as a result of her deep indignation towards Britannia. However, most of her aggravation tended to not last very long and once it dissipated she became a rather pleasant person to be around.

Having seen their mutual cultural ties as a form of comradery, Suzaku had been given the chance to familiarize himself with the real Kozuki Kallen and not the defense she put up against the opposition of Britannia.

He was extremely thankful for that.

For years, he had felt alone, a small speck caught in the whirlwind that was Britannia. An individual that was solely fueled off of nostalgia and a desire to avenge his father. Meeting El and Kallen had changed that.

El, he was admittedly still wary of. But, the Britannian disliked unnecessary killing, so Suzaku supposed that it was a reasonable alliance to have. It was certainly better than being stuck in human trafficking for another four years. Though, to be fair, most things were a lot better than being a glorified slave.

Kallen, on the other hand, was probably one of the most unintentionally hilarious people he had ever met. Her offhanded comments about Britannia kept their conversations relatively light-hearted, something that was rather difficult considering their tumultuous backgrounds.

Although, neither of them had exchanged anything distinctly personal since their encounter with El, Suzaku had begun to realize what a compassionate person Kallen truly was. She had been incredibly sympathetic when it came to Suzaku's circumstances and had done her utmost to make him feel at ease, evening admitting that her desire in life was to liberate their people.

It was inspiring.

However, as they stood awkwardly before 5 Penn Plaza, their breath short with anticipation, Suzaku could tell that the compassionate side of Kallen was certainly not going to make an appearance for awhile. Especially, since neither of them quite knew what to expect.

"Ready?" Kallen asked.

"Ready." Suzaku echoed, entering the building hesitantly. The door swung shut behind him with a soft grace that did not match the apprehension that was currently consuming him.

The interior was both exactly what he expected and what he didn't expect.

The lavish nature of it all, with the plush carpet, extravagant decor, and inviting chairs, was everything he had ever imagine a Britannian enterprise to contain. However, when considering that this was Amnesty International, one of the leaders in minority rights within Britannia, the parallel was rather disturbing.

To put it quite simply, Suzaku didn't quite know what to feel and the occupants at the front desk - the sole occupants in the vast room besides Kallen and himself - did little to offset this.

They were drastically different, not only in gender, but also in attitude. The male appeared to be extremely attentive, his posturing rigid and practically bleeding Britannian bureaucrat. Beside him, splayed out across her seat, was an unusually green-haired woman, her golden eyes lazily focused upon Suzaku.

"We have an appointment," Suzaku stated, glancing from the man to the woman.

"With whom?" The man inquired. Surprisingly, his gaze lacked the usual disgust most Britannians had when they encountered an Asian individual.

"With a Mr. Clovis," Suzaku explained, reading the name tags of the workers - a Mr. Jeremiah Gottwald and Ms. C.C. apparently.

Upon hearing his words, the two glanced at each other before the woman, C.C., slowly stood up.

"I'll be showing you the way," she stated, her voice monotone. "I was really hoping you were the pizza man; but, I guess life is full of disappointments."

"The pizza man?" Kallen asked, her eyebrows knitted in confusion as C.C. led them through a series of hallways.

"Yes, the pizza man," C.C. reiterated solemnly. "The most important individual in all of Britannia.

Suzaku snorted, watching with amusement as Kallen seemed to wrangle with her enjoyment of subtly insulting the emperor and blatant confusion.

Evidently, she settled for a weak smile, not quite knowing what to say.

"So, what type of person is Mr. Clovis?" Suzaku probed.

"A man," C.C. said rather simply and Suzaku got the distinct impression that interrogating her would be pointless.

A tense silence encompassed them, only stopping when they arrived at what was allegedly their destination - a large wooden door with intricate foliage painted upon it.

Without even sparing Suzaku and Kallen a glance, C.C. motioned to the door before promptly darting off to presumably gorge herself on the pizza she had been raving about earlier.

With perhaps more force than necessary, Suzaku rapped upon the door, trying to keep his breathing even. Beside him, Kallen looked firmly ahead, her eyes glued to the woodwork.

From inside the door came a voice whose words rung in their ears.

"Come in."

* * *

"Hello, I'm Clovis la Britannia and you must be the new recruits. Please do take a seat."

The statement alone sent thousands of thoughts racing through Suzaku's mind, nevermind the fact that the room they were in seemed to be overflowing with flowery. For one, the man was obviously a bit disgusted by Kallen and Suzaku, but it seemed to not be due to race but rather their bedraggled appearance if the way he was eyeing their clothing was any indication. Secondly, his tone was unnaturally upbeat, almost blindingly joyous and made Suzaku question - just for a moment - how reputable El's organization really was. Besides this, the mere fact that the man appeared to be of the Britannian royal family was certainly disconcerting.

Kallen obviously shared his mindset for she was glaring straight at Clovis.

"Why would a 'la Britannia' work for Amnesty International, much less a covert operation?" She questioned aggressively. "You do realize this organization is promoting human rights and not taking them away?"

If Clovis was offended by Kallen's scathing comment, he didn't show it.

"Perhaps I just care for human rights," he replied, before his face turned sour. "Besides, being an artist isn't exactly a sustainable lifestyle without some sort of side job."

"So, you decided to join a clandestine organization bent upon overthrowing the very nation that you're a prince too?" Kallen asked dubiously.

"I had connections," Clovis said, a blinding smile once more adorning his features.

Although obviously unhappy with his response, Kallen didn't appear nearly as enraged as she had when El had aggravated her. Suzaku suspected the difference was probably the result of her having acclimated to society once more and therefore being far less shell-shocked.

"However, that's not why you're here," he continued, brushing his hair out of his face with an extravagant flick. "You're here to join the Black Knights!"

"The Black Knights," Suzaku murmured, testing the word out. It wasn't what he had been expecting, but welcome nonetheless.

"It's the organization's name. My, erm - our - leader chose it because he thought it was ironic. Not that he ever explained to me why." Clovis explained, sounding a bit cross at the end of his statement.

It was becoming abundantly clear to both Suzaku and Kallen that Clovis was, in no means, the brains behind the operation, nor did he probably have much input when it came to the more precise matters of the Black Knights. Despite this, he still had an important position within the group, having been entrusted with the duty of greeting new recruitments.

Now, Suzaku would be lying if he said the man wasn't pleasant. In fact, Clovis was incredibly likeable with his pretty face and friendly personality. But, it was as if he had nothing to hide, seemingly baring his heart for the whole world to see.

Why would El be so close to someone like that? Because, with the way Clovis spoke of the Britannian - knowledgeable and with obvious familiarity - they were evidently rather close.

Something was just not adding up and Kallen's side glance to him and her mouthing of 'can we trust this guy' only solidified his apprehension.

They were both rather lucky that Clovis was so distinctly unobservant or else they could have found themselves in between a rock and a hard place. But, unobservant, Clovis was, and he kept on talking with no red flags raised.

"I'm not going to interrogate either of you, because El has already cleared you; however, there's still a lot of stuff you don't know yet." He said. "I'm going to explain a few of those to you right now."

Suzaku still didn't believe Clovis to be a rather intellectual man, but he was quickly proving him incorrect for having perceived the Britannian prince as inadequate.

"One, being Amnesty International. This organization is both our cover and something we do a lot of work through. El refers to it as our legality buffer." Clovis continued, receipting the description as if he had done it many times before.

Suzaku suspected that he had.

"Another, more obvious thing, is that we recruit minorities." He motioned to the two of them. "Something that's not really found anywhere but east Britannia."

"That's ridiculous!" Kallen interjected, referring to how the east was the only sector to hire individuals with an Asian background.

"Obviously, but it's still a large component of the Black Knights. Besides this, we also have access to an array of weaponry, including a series of knightmare frames." Clovis stated, before glancing down at his watch. "Alas, I'd love to explain more, but it appears that your tour guides should be arriving any second now."

"Tour guides?" Suzaku questioned.

"Yes, tour guides. You don't think I was going to show you around, did you?" Clovis asked, a tad affronted.

Suzaku wrinkled his nose with distaste, rethinking his earlier perception of Clovis being overly friendly. But, as quickly as his snobbishness came, it soon left.

"Now, go wait in the hallway," Clovis said, his tone strangely pleasant despite the fact that it should've had an edge. "I've got quite a few paintings to work on and my associates should be here by now."

As they exited the room, Suzaku caught Kallen rolling her eyes.

Even working as an advocate for human rights still produced a bit of a superiority complex in people.

Typical Britannians.

* * *

 ** **Disclaimer:**** I hold no authorization towards the Code Geass fandom

 ** **Author's Note:**** Yayayaya! Clovis was finally introduced (aka the moment I've been dying to write) and he's working for Amnesty International. A bit unusual, most certainly out of character when it comes to canon; however, the reasoning behind it ties up all of the loose ends rather nicely. Plus, C.C. and Jeremiah's entrances! I'm just name dropping everywhere today. Besides that, we get some nifty characterization for Kallen along with more internal Suzaku musings. Both character's might seem a bit too analytical; however, in canon they were already decently observant and when combined with their background in this alternate universe, I think their insight makes sense - I hope. Next chapter we should be getting into some heavy duty plot, so be prepared for that. As always, thanks for checking out one of my stories. Constructive criticism is more than welcome (shoutout to the anonymous reviewer who pointed out a few things) and feedback always appreciated, but please don't feel obligated.

 ** **Aurah:**** You're right on the dot there. Euphemia and Nunnally aren't going to be in this story. Though, it would be nice if I could find a way to slip them in somehow. I've never really liked Nunnally as a person, but she's a fascinating character nonetheless.

 ** **yuuram2fangirl:**** Well, I feel quite honored that you're breaking that trend to read mine!

 ** **Guest:**** Thank you so much for pointing that out! I had just finished writing a different story in the present tense, so I guess some of that leaked through for chapter three. No worries, though, because I sent in my ultra grammar god friend and she fixed everything and even explained to me some interesting things about dialogue grammar. The more you know haha

 ** **Rilliane:**** Yep! I'm a bit of a history buff, so there's a lot of parallels between the American Civil War and the one that I plan to unleash in this universe. Thanks for the insight! I always enjoy reading your reviews :)

 ** **ryder77:**** Yeah, Suzaku's and Kallen's differences aren't that large (I hope haha), but they're a result of their pasts differing from that of canon. Not to mention, Kallen, who's already a pretty aggressive character, was clearly shell-shocked so she wasn't exactly in the best mental state. And, well, I needed her to keep the plot flowing lol. Anyways, thanks for sticking my story; I really appreciate it!

 ** **Guest:**** YEP! YOU GOT THAT RIGHT! I'm really glad that somebody picked up on it tbh; I was afraid it was too subtle. To be completely honest, your review made my day and I couldn't stop laughing :)

 ** **raevinederont1:**** Yeah, I've been trying to make it a bit clandestine since that was how canon Code Geass was like. I included Jeremiah in this chapter, so feel free to tell me what you think of his new position as (basically) a secretary for Amnesty International (which, is quite a lit NGO in real life). As for the rest of the Black Knights, well...we'll be meeting them next chapter, so I don't want to spoil too much. What I can say, is that their will be some from the original Black Knights organization that Lelouch controlled in c


	5. Chapter 5

**Blackbird**

 ** **Chapter Five****

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

Their welcoming party, if one were to describe the rowdy group that greeted them as such, was much more in line with what Suzaku had imagined an organization of revolutionaries to be like. Gone were the strange secretaries and Clovis's unsettlingly friendly smile, replaced by a cluster of laughing men.

Kallen had taken to them immediately, having quickly embraced two of the men as she slipped into Japanese, words pouring out of her exponentially until they became indecipherable for even the incredibly fluent Suzaku. Her companions, whom he assumed to be old friends or family, probably didn't comprehend much of the redhead's drivel; however, they were far too caught up in each other, tears streaming down their faces and mushed together in a tangle of limbs, to necessarily care all that much.

After regaining their composure, the men had introduced themselves as Kaname Ohgi and Shinichirō Tamaki, their more reserved associate being a man by the name of Toru Yoshida.

Tamaki was, by far, the loudest of them all, often motioning with his hands to emphasize different things he said. Some might have found this annoying, but Suzaku didn't. No, it was bittersweet, full of nostalgia, and brought back old memories, but it wasn't annoying.

No, it reminded Suzaku of home.

It reminded him of Japan and his childhood and chatting with the rambunctious privates. The melancholy remembrance of sneaking into his father's small knightmare hanger, testing out models and believing it all to be the best thing in the world. He missed those days, breezy and colorful when the sakura blossoms fell and his feet dirty from the sunflower field behind his grandmother's house.

Japan had seemed so large then; but, in the grand scheme of things, it really wasn't.

The nation wasn't decrepit by any means - Suzaku had made sure of that. The second he realized that El had supplied them with computers and an internet connection on the train, Kallen and him had rushed to figure out Japan's current standing in the world.

It wasn't bad. Prime Minister Kuruguri's replacement was competent and despite the fact that the country had made no moves to condemn Britannia for their political assassination, they had fairly high public support. Unsurprisingly, they had grown to be more isolated, only reaching out to other nations for trade, which made sense considering how the nation's industry had skyrocketed in the last two years.

Overall, everything seemed stable in Japan, even with the obvious tension between it and Britannia - something that his tour guides had a lot to say about.

"They're just salty that they still have to trade with the Japanese," Tamaki shouted, his hand almost hitting Yoshida. "Fucking Brits! They hate us, but they still need us. Fucking irony right there."

"Well, it's not as if they can simply invade Japan," Ohgi responded. "To do so is basically begging for India's wrath and no nation wants to mess with their military. Plus, you also have Japan's other allies to consider as well."

Suzaku had quickly learned that all three of them men were versed in politics, which was to be expected when one worked in a top secret organization bent upon overthrowing an autocratic ruler due to human right infractions. Political knowledge just came with the field. However, Ohgi was proving to be the most knowledgeable out of them. He knew allies and enemies like the back of hand, something that both Suzaku and Kallen were trying to remember.

On the other hand, Tamaki wasn't nearly as eloquent when it came to politics but he had spirit and tons of nationalism. Those were redeemable traits, right? Although, those were also probably what led to Britannia's fascist regime, so perhaps they weren't the most commendable. Either way, he was trying and knew enough dirt on Britannia to bury the nation.

"Yeah, yeah, they're probably just scared of our might!" Tamaki said, waving his hand dismissively. "I wish I could have been born in Japan and not this dump. Fucking unfair, I tell you. Stupid Brits."

Kallen nodded in agreement, a contrast to Ohgi's sigh.

"Tamaki, please remember what I told you…" he said, clearly exasperated.

The brunette sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know." His voice pitched higher as he mocked his companion. "Amnesty International is helping us and they're good Britannian's so we have to be nice. Brit bashing is only for at home. Blah, blah, blah."

Tamaki turned to Suzaku, throwing his arm over the younger's shoulder. "My new pal right here, he knows what's good. You're not like ol' Ohgi here? You don't think some Britannians are actually good."

Suzaku frowned, not quite knowing what to say. "I don't like Britannia," he admitted. "In fact, the nation's done some pretty terrible things to me, but I don't think they're all that bad."

Neither Tamaki or Kallen seemed very pleased with his response; however, Ohgi was looking at him thoughtfully.

"Really, after all they've done to you, to your family, you still think there's some good in them?" Kallen finally asked, quietly.

"I do," Suzaku responded, a tad more firmly than before. Sure, most of Britannia was rather racist and the emperor could rot for all he cared, but he had met some very dear friends within the nation as well. It just felt wrong to group them together like that. "A long time ago, I went to a Britannian school. A lot of the kids were rude, but there were a few that welcomed me into their group and I'll never forget their kindness. One of them was even my best friend or, at least, I thought she was…"

He trailed off, eyes downcast as he scratched his neck nervously. It seemed as if today was a day of old wounds reopening.

"Well, exactly, you thought that fuckin' Brit was your pal, but clearly the truth came out eventually," Tamaki retorted, spotting Suzaku's slip-up. "But we won't leave ya'. We're brother's in arms."

"I appreciate that," Suzaku said sheepishly. "But, our friendship didn't end disastrously. Things were fine, she just, ah, stopped writing one day and never wrote again. I don't even know what happened to her."

"Probably decided she was too good for you. She didn't realize what she was missing out on, though," Kallen said, briefly resting her hand on Suzaku's shoulder.

Suzaku gave her a weak smile, knowing that the redhead was trying to make him feel better. It didn't necessarily help all that much, though. The sudden end of that friendship still troubled him and he wasn't very keen to revisit it once more.

Far too much, it reminded him of the before, of his life prior to the fateful day where his father was murdered in cold blood. It stirred up feelings that Suzaku had long since shut out, feelings that he didn't want to manage currently.

He had already been swamped by enough ghosts of his past - he didn't need to revisit another.

And, he wasn't going to, at least not today. Perhaps luck was on his side or somebody had taken a hint for Tamaki soon interrupted his internal musings.

"Okay, say what you will about some Britannian's being good fellows and all that; but, come on, you can't tell me that our esteemed "greeter" Clovis la Britannia isn't a tad bit of an ass." he said sarcastically. "Freakin' man made me babysit his plants one week and then blamed the petunia's death on my off-key singing. I sing very well, thank you very much."

Kallen snorted. "You've got the ass part right. He seems pretty pretentious if you ask me."

Suzaku nodded in agreement, rather glad to have entered a new topic. "Not in a racist way, though. It was kind of weird. He seemed to be judging us based off our attire."

"Yeah, he does that. Apparently, he's some aspiring artist and designer want-to-be. Not like he can get a government position." Tamaki said, casually slipping his hands into his pockets.

Suzaku frowned. The fact that he had never even heard of a Prince Clovis had confused him when the man had first introduced himself and now, with the mention of his inability to retain a government position, things appeared even more strange.

"Don't princes usually work in the government, though?" Kallen questioned, voicing Suzaku's thoughts.

"Nah, not with Clovis. He's one of Charles's, so ol' Nicky doesn't want him anywhere close to the throne. I'm surprised he wasn't offed like his older brother."

"Offed?" Suzaku wondered aloud.

"Yeah, offed. You know, murdered?" Tamaki replied, staring at Suzaku like he was dumb.

"He is a new recruit," Ohgi said, coming to Suzaku's defense. "Neither Kallen or him probably know that much about classified Britanninan history."

This seemed to appease the brunette for he turned to the two of them a look of excitement etched across of his face. It was becoming abundantly clear to Suzaku that gossiping and trash-talking Britannia was what made Tamaki, well, Tamaki.

"Oh, do I have a story for you guys," he said, throwing his arms around Kallen's and Suzaku's shoulders as he pulled them closer to himself, glancing at them conspiratorially. "So, after Charles offed himself, which I don't believe, mind you - no way some greedy Britannian would stab himself right after he finally managed to become emperor - a race for the throne began. Now, all of Charles's kids were pretty young, but Nicky still killed off the oldest, some lame blighter named Odysseus and married that girl, eh, Guinevere, off so they couldn't do much."

"Why didn't he just kill all of them?" Kallen inquired.

"Too suspicious," Tamaki stated, glancing around to make sure none of the individuals passing their group were eavesdropping. "Charles was a womanizer or, at least, someone who had some pretty good lawyers to shoot down rape accusations - disgusting Brit - so, he already had like fifteen kids lying around. Nicky managed to take out a handful, but it's still pretty suspicious having fifteen royal princes and princesses dropping dead on the same day."

For the first time in several minutes, Tamaki took a break to regain his breath. However, it was brief and before Suzaku knew it, the brunette had leapt back into telling his tale.

"So, instead, Nicky did his best to keep the devils out of the government," he continued. "Did a pretty good job as well. I think only three of them slipped through, well, two discounting the military. Clovis, wasn't one of them and, instead, he gets to live out his life torturing freedom fighters with his garden and helping us poor rebels. What a great guy, right?"

Suzaku's mind was so overwhelmed by information that he almost missed Tamaki's sarcastic tone. Princes and princesses that were only those titles in name?

Truth be told, it made a whole lot of sense and explained why he had never known of Clovis's existence; however, how could they be so effortlessly hidden from the Britannian people. Then again, perhaps they weren't. For all he knew, Clovis could be well-known in art circles, but not significant enough to be known nationwide.

Ugh, this was why Suzaku tended to avoid politics - they just didn't make sense.

"That's just weird," Kallen finally admitted and, for the second time that day, she stole the words right out of Suzaku's mouth.

"That's Britannia for you," Ohgi replied with a chuckle. "We seem to have arrived at the main conference hall, so we'll have to continue Tamaki's gossip fest - I mean, story - later."

A cry of indignation from the accused individual was the last thing Suzaku heard before thunderous applause reached his ears, the large doors swinging open before them.

He soon found out that they were not applauding for him, nor were the cheering for Kallen.

No, instead, the swarm of impeccably dressed individuals within the spacious room were cheering for a sole man, one that Suzaku recognized immediately.

He looked different now, hair golden and eyes a vivid shade of cornflower blue. The beard was gone too, exposing the sharp edges of the man's now distinctly aristocratic face. But, he was still as tall as ever and the glint in his eyes was the same.

This was El.

But, he wasn't just El, was he? Suzaku knew Tamaki had said that Emperor Charles's children had lost all of their political power, but this one didn't. No, even after four years of being cut off from the media, Suzaku still recognized his face.

This man was the face of Amnesty International, a diplomat for Britannia, and the apparent leader of a clandestine organization bent upon overthrowing Britannia, the Black Knights.

This man was Schneizel el Britannia.

* * *

 ** **Disclaimer:**** I hold no authorization towards the Code Geass fandom

 ** **Author's Note:**** This chapter! This chapter is something I've been dying to write for a while now! Not only do we get some Black Knights interactions, but we also get some light shone on what happened after Charles's death, along with the identity of El finally revealed. Yeah, I know a lot of you wanted the leader of the Black Knights to be Lelouch but role reversallllllll, it's Schneizel. It might seem a tad disappointing since "WHERE IS LELOUCH?" but he's there, trust me and I've been trying to slip in little hints in regards to his whereabouts. I can't say too much though, or else the plot will be rushed. However, I'm hoping this information loaded chapter will appease y'all. As always, thank you for checking out one of my stories! I really appreciate it! Constructive criticism is always welcome - I need some grammar help haha.

 ** **Lordban:**** Well, I'm glad you find it interesting!

 ** **Guest:**** Yeah, your reviews are always a joy to read. Nope, Lelouch isn't the leader of the Black Knights, but Suzaku will be pretty shook about his current position...let's just say that one of the things that is still canon is them being on opposing sides. And, yes, pizza is lit teehee

 ** **DigiXBot:**** You got that right! I hope you like Tamaki's and Ohgi's appearance

 ** **ryder77:**** Haha, sorry about that. This one's longer, though. In fact, it's my longest chapter yet.

 ** **daliapvperez:**** Si, la aparición de Clovis fue un poco por ahi jajaja

 ** **Rilliane:**** Thank you! Yeah, I was assuming you'd be a bit disappointed about Lelouch's lack of inclusion in the Black Knights; however, I tried to drop some more hints about his role in this universe by having Suzaku talk more about his past. Going to be honest, it's taking a lot of self-control for me to not rush right into Lelouch's entrance and instead b


	6. Chapter 6

**Blackbird**

 ** **Chapter Six****

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

"Suzaku Kururugi?"

The woman raised an eyebrow dubiously, her eyes flicking from the paper to his face.

"And, you wish to attend Ashford University, because…"

She trailed off, the firmness of her voice doing little to disguise the undertones of confusion that had seeped into it. This was an understandable reaction. All things considered, Suzaku was the orphaned son of a foreign leader who had been murdered on Britannian soil, making his desire to attend a school in the heart of Pendragon a tad peculiar.

Well, maybe more than a tad; however, El had prepared him for this.

"It's an incredibly prestigious school and I wish to further my cultural knowledge while attending it." he stated, trying to force a smile onto his face.

The woman nodded, jotting a quick note down; all the while, remaining outstandingly professional - professional enough to internalize her prejudice.

Oh, she hid it well; but, there was no doubt in Suzaku's mind that the receptionist was racist. It showed through in the small things. The way she avoided looking at his face, how her lips curled in disgust when she read out his name, and the way she subtly questioned him.

No, if it was up to this woman, he would not be admitted into Ashford University. Unfortunately for her, he had a prince of Britannia backing him, so attending to the school he would be.

However, the fact that a Britannian prince was backing him brought up a whole new plethora of problems. Specifically, the fact that the prince that was backing him was El.

What a surprise that had been.

After spotting him on the stage, Kallen had to be physically restrained from attempting homicide and things had only gone downhill from there.

 _ _( "You're Schneizel el Britannia!" Kallen accused.__

 _ _She leapt forward the instant the door to El's private office closed, hands grasping only air as she was hauled backwards by his second-in-command, Kanon Maldini.__

 _ _Suzaku was quick to lash out in an attempt to save his only lifeline in the Black Knights; however, Kanon tightening his grip around Kallen stopped him in his tracks.__

" _ _Now, let's not get excited," El - no, Schneizel - said. "Please do let the kind woman down, Kanon."__

 _ _With impressive obedience, the Britannian released Kallen, positioning himself between them and the prince of Britannia. It was a wise move on his part for although Schneizel appeared not the least bit concerned by the blatant hostility directed at him, Suzaku could see Kallen physically fighting the urge to retaliate.__

 _ _This, he could relate to. He wasn't very happy about being deceived nor was he terribly satisfied with El's true identity.__

 _ _A prince leading a revolution against his relative - one that seized the throne beneath dubious pretences? That just seemed a bit too much like a personal vendetta and less like a liberation of the people.__

 _ _Some individuals might have been okay with signing up for a "means-to-an-end" campaign, one that valued little more than the end result; but, that wasn't Suzaku.__

 _ _He might have despised the governing body of Britannia along with its underworld; but, he'd rather not unnecessarily drag civilians into it if it was possible.__

 _ _He thought El shared his perspective. But now, with his freshly exposed background, he couldn't be sure.__

 _ _There weren't many things Suzaku could currently call his own and those that he could he held onto tightly. One such thing being his morals.__

" _ _Why weren't you honest with us from the get-go?" Suzaku questioned, voicing his concerns, particularly those fixated on the possibility of El having his own personal agenda.__

 _ _Schneizel's response was swift and straight to the point.__

" _ _Why do you think?" The man countered, his voice crisp. "If either of you were to hypothetically deny recruitment whilst knowing my identity that would make you a liability. The possibility of Emperor Nikkolas uncovering my operation from that occurrence, no matter how unlikely, is something I am not willing to risk. Therefore, acting with secrecy and caution was in all of our favor."__

" _ _Well, I think that's ridiculous," Kallen said firmly, cutting in before Suzaku had the chance to respond. "If you aren't willing to sacrifice everything for something you believe in then it's not even worth putting time and effort into it."__

 _ _A smirk slid onto Schneizel's face at this, his eyes glinting.__

" _ _Then, perhaps that is why you found yourself imprisoned and I did not."__

 _ _Suzaku flinched. Despite the fact that the statement wasn't directed at him, the bite beneath it was harsh and it's relevancy to his own situation stung. Kallen also appeared startled, her anger bursting forth to shield her; indignation and fury painting her features.__

" _ _Then perhaps I should find another rebel faction to join." She spat out, mockingly copying his phrasing.__

" _ _Yes, how do we know whether you're here to actually help the oppressed peoples of Britannia?" Suzaku said, quick to come to Kallen' defense.__

 _ _She blinked gratefully as he put a supportive hand upon her shoulder. Neither of them was alone in this. No, they had each other.__

 _ _They were a unified front.__

 _ _However, for some reason, this only seemed to amuse the Britannians.__

" _ _Now, who is being judged upon their heritage?" Schneizel quipped, continuing before either Suzaku or Kallen had the chance to interject. "Before you say anything, I do understand that what I experience is nowhere close to the racism that you have both been subjected to. This, however, does not excuse the blatant prejudice you have begun treating me with as a result of my family."__

" _ _One cannot simply compare the subjugation of an entire race to the hostility shown towards its oppressor." Kallen spat back, eyes alight with blue flames.__

 _ _Strangely, Schneizel smiled at this. It was a soft thing, barely noticeable against his sharp features, but there nonetheless.__

" _ _Ah, that perspective of yours is why I recruited you in the first place." )__

"Well, everything appears to checkout," the woman finally said, a bit resigned. "Especially when considering the recommendation we received."

Suzaku dipped his head in response, his face uncomfortable from the obnoxiously wide smile that was currently plastered across it.

"Yes, Mr. el Britannia is an incredibly kind and generous man."

The receptionist nodded at this, seemingly caught between her urge to praise Britannian royalty and not wanting to agree with anything Suzaku said.

Praising Britannia appeared to win out as she responded with a forced smile.

"Yes, what a nice man." She stated almost mechanically.

"I couldn't agree more. It's amazing what's been able to do for all of the minorities in Britannia."

By now, Suzaku's smile had transformed into a shit-eating-grin. He know that perhaps he was toeing the line a bit on this one; jeopardizing his entire mission just to push her buttons. But, to be quite frank, he didn't particularly care.

This woman had been giving him grief ever since she was sent to pick him up at the Pendragon airport and this was the very least that he deserved for putting up with all of her cutting comments and disgusted glances.

Not to mention the fact that he was about to be attending a college full of Britannian elites. Yeah, he was definitely allowed to blow off some steam this way.

"Certainly," the woman said crisply and, as if it physically pained her to do so, she shakily passed him a schedule and student ID.

"Welcome to Ashford University then."

If looks could kill, Suzaku would be six feet under.

* * *

His first class was everything Suzaku expected. It was relatively tiny for that of a college - what, with Ashford being so hard to get into and all - and full of hostile glares and disgusted sneers.

His next two classes, Intro to Engineering and Physics, went relatively the same way and by the time he had reached his fourth and last class of the day, Strategy and Battle Tactics, his name had been mispronounced a total of fourteen times, eleven of which had been decisively intentional.

The rest of his day appeared to be projected to go the same way and Suzaku had long solidified himself to the onslaught of racism that he was submerged in. What he wasn't prepared for, however, was the unlikely encounter with his childhood best friend.

In a stroke of some rather unwelcome serendipity, he had been seated beside the little faye and after two tense hours of discrete side-glances he found himself outside of the cursed classroom that had started it all, Azaela nu Britannia's vivid gaze upon him.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" she murmured, her tone even.

Ah, yes, seven years," Suzaku responded, nervously scratching his neck.

What exactly was one supposed to say when they encountered their once best friend? It wasn't as if he could inquire upon why she stopped writing to him. That didn't exactly fall beneath the domain of small talk.

However, Suzaku's mouth didn't pick up on that message which wasn't necessarily a surprise. He had always been one to wear his heart upon his sleeve.

"We haven't spoken since you stopped writing," he continued awkwardly.

Not his best moment; however, there were worse things to slip-up about, one such being his role in the Black Knights.

Thankfully, Azalea handled the situation with grace.

"I am terribly sorry about that," she said pleasantly. "I was rather overwhelmed at the time and it must have slipped my mind. I do hope that we can start over."

Quite frankly, the last thing on Suzaku's mind was engaging in a friendship with the Britannian princess once more. Disregarding the rather awkward end to their past friendship, the simple fact that her father ordered the oppression of his people along with the murder of his own father was a good enough reason to avoid her.

However, while this might have passed as a reasonable explanation in Suzaku's mind, Schneizel nor his organization would be very happy about him passing up the chance to get close to Emperor Nikkolas's daughter.

Now, Suzaku didn't particularly care what Schneizel thought of him; but, he didn't want to disappoint his fellow rebels. If Kallen could handle acting as the snotty leader of the Black Knight's personal assistant (how that happened, he didn't quite know) he could manage awkward small talk with his sort-of-maybe-not-it's-complicated friend.

"I would love that," he forced out and if Azalea caught his hesitation, she didn't let on.

Instead, a smile slid across her elegant features; pearly white teeth complimenting her ivory skin and ebony locks rather nicely.

Tumultuous history aside, there was no denying that Azalea had inherited the classic beauty of the Britannian royal family.

"Wonderful. Rolo has missed you so much."

Suzaku froze at that.

It might have been a long time and it might have been a rather awkward conversation; but, Suzaku would have remembered having a Britannian friend, one that he was apparently close with, named Rolo.

And, he didn't.

"Uh, Rolo?" he inquired cautiously.

"Yes, my brother," came the dark-haired woman's response and Suzaku's heart almost stopped.

Azaela didn't have a brother named Rolo.

And, even if she did, Suzaku had never met him.

* * *

 ** **Disclaimer:**** I hold no authorization towards the Code Geass fandom

 ** **Author's Note:**** Damn, this chapter is information packed. I'm sorry if it's not up to my usual standard - I was a bit rushed for time with school starting tomorrow and I wanted to get it out for you guys! So, please forgive me if it sucks. Despite the deadline, I actually enjoyed writing this chapter lot. I got to show Kallen's and Suzaku's reaction to El's identity and began getting into some large parts of the plot. Plus, LELOUCH! Or, maybe not Lelouch...I think that depends on what headcanon or prediction you currently have for this fic (which, I'd love to hear). As always, thank you for checking out one of my stories. I'm really surprised and humbled by the feedback I've gotten. I definitely feel like I'm growing as a writer. Feel free to leave a review with some constructive criticism or feedback; however, please don't feel obligated. Until next time~

 ** **ryder77:**** Yep, she ;)

 ** **Rilliane:**** Well, Lelouch's background is definitely the most complicated one in the entire story; however, I'm really happy to be able to introduce him because of that very reason. As for Guinevere: Nikkolas did not marry her, instead he married her off to a foreign leader. In regards to the name of Schneizel's organization: well, I slipped it in one of the previous chapters, but he thought naming the group the "Black Knights" would he ironic. The reasoning behind its irony? Well, that'll be explained later on.

 ** **daliapvperez:**** Sí, Lelouch no es el líder de los Caballeros Negros. Sin embargo, él aparecerá pronto. Lo siento por mi español. Estoy bastante oxidado jajaja

 ** **Guest:**** Oh lord, I don't think my Kallen is quite that good, but I'm glad you like what I've done with her character. I completely agree that Suzaku and her would get along which is why I'm making them such a team in this fic :)

 ** **1Otamon:**** Thank you! I'm pretty happy with the role I've been able to give Clovis. I completely agree that the political scene wasn't for him and although he was certainly prejudice, he wasn't necessarily a distinctly bad person. At ;east he gets to express himself a bit more in this universe :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Blackbird**

 ** **Chapter Seven****

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

"Is that who I think it is?"

Suzaku glanced over his shoulder upon hearing the question, hand frozen on the doorknob to his dorm room as a woman strode purposefully towards him. Her blonde hair in an elaborate knot and clear blue eyes containing a mischievous twinkle that he would recognize anywhere.

"Milly!" He exclaimed, happy to see an old friend that he didn't have quite so much history with. "How have you been?"

Dramatically, the women put a hand over her heart, mouth curling upwards.

"How have I been? How have I been?" She repeated, a teasing lilt to her lips. "How have you been? Finally gracing us with your presence after all these years?"

Suzaku scratched his neck sheepishly, her friendly words a very much appreciated contrast to the hostile glares he had been subjected to the entire week. Unsurprisingly, the capital of the Britannian Empire was just as much of a racist landmine as one would suspect it to be; a bigoted person at every corner and at least one prejudice individual within a minority's immediate vicinity. It was, arguably, the most fascist area within a five-hundred mile, if not global, radius and Suzaku was just lucky enough to be attending university there.

Despite all of this, Milly's appearance had been the perfect distraction, relieving his mind from processing the predicament he currently found himself in and proving that even after all of those years and everything that had happened, the blonde could still effortlessly make his problem's disappear. It was a gift she had possessed for as long as he had known her, drawing individuals into her tiny slip of a kingdom where past didn't matter as much as possibility. A benevolent queen that cared little for one's background and far more about what they could provide for her.

It was this very attitude of hers that drew him to her in the first place; the clear indication, as a nine-year-old Suzaku stumbled over his English, that she wasn't going to make fun of him for specifically being foreign, but rather tease him like she would to any of their other year mates, because race didn't matter to Milly. It never mattered to her. The only thing the blonde cared about was how much fun she could have with someone.

The gossip hound that she was, Milly was irresistibly drawn to people she deemed interesting, often drawing said people into her ridiculous schemes. It was what had made her such a fun person to be around.

And, it was what allowed him to relax in that moment, hand loosening its ironclad grip upon the door handle, as he offered her a tentative smile. Being able to, just for a second, forget that he was in Pendragon on a covert mission and, instead, act like any other university student meeting up with an old friend.

An old friend that aged amazingly well and was well aware of it if her sly grin and form-fitting outfit were any indication.

He blushed a bit at that thought, because this was Milly of all people; the very same girl that had introduced his once innocent self to porn and decided that, at age twelve, her aspiration in life was to become a stripper.

One, quite simply, did not think of the blonde haired vixen in that way and not expect some sort of retribution on her part. She had a reputation to uphold, after all - a reputation that had somehow existed even during their adolescence.

"Awe, did you miss me so much that you're shocked speechless," she crooned, sidling up to Suzaku and displaying that time had yet to teach her the importance of personal space. "Don't sorry I missed you too."

To punctuate her statement, she drug a finger teasingly down his chest, tongue snaking across her lips in an entirely intended suggestive manner.

Suzaku stiffened beneath her touch almost instantaneously, shoving the blonde woman who gracefully loped away, laughter upon her lips.

"You're no fun, Suzaku," she pouted, pointing to him and snickering as the Japanese man had to physically restrain himself from looking at her bountiful cleavage which was accented even more so by the crossing of her arms.

"Stop it, Milly," he shot back, although it was halfhearted at best. He had always been one to take a joke even if the jokester was unintentionally playing upon his last four years of little to no social interaction with any individual, never mind the opposite sex.

The blonde only snickered in response, her soft peels of laughter and wide, doe-like eyes giving her the image of woodland nymph.

Resigned, but truly not all that angry, Suzaku twirled his room key in his hand, the metal cool against his fingers as he watched the Ashford heiress compose herself once again. Although, it could be argued that Milly was always composed and undeniably in control, just choosing whether to radiate professionalism or not.

Whatever the case, Suzaku watched with half-hearted interest as the golden-haired faye straightened her clothes out, hand reaching delicately into her purse - a lovely crimson creation that probably had more to its name than he could ever dream to have - before pulling out a slightly crinkled piece of paper.

"My number," she explained, pearly teeth flashing. "Along with the schedule for this year's Community Outreach and Event Planning Committee schedule. Think of it as an older version of the old student council," she specified, evidently noticing his look of confusion. "COEPC for short which was christened by Nina, mind you. I wouldn't have come up with such a disastrously dull name."

Suzaku flinched at the mention of the incredibly intelligent, but incredibly racist Britannian.

She had always been an awkward subject for him when he was attending Ashford Academy. He never really knew how to feel about her. On one hand, the blatant fear she used to display around him, particularly during his last few years in Pendragon, was hurt some. However, he never seemed to be able to get angry at her for her actions, nevermind blame her for her beliefs. If propaganda was mercilessly shoved down his throat from a young age he'd probably be just like her.

Now, after everything he had experienced, he just couldn't find it within himself to maintain such a belief.

So much evidence had been released to contradict Emperor Nikkolas's propaganda upon the minorities of Britannia and well respected figures had been vocal about disagreeing with their stance. One such being Schneizel who, despite seeming pretty shifty towards Suzaku, was an incredibly reputable individual who even held a government position.

Quite simply, information promoting minorities was easily accessible, so for Nina to continue harboring ill-intentions towards them was just plain ignorant.

Nothing besides blatant fake news showed minorities as being any different than Britannians. So, if Nina Einstein still harbored racism towards the minorities of Britannia than that was on her.

"I guess so," he finally conceded, hoping Milly didn't pick up on his discomfort.

If she did, she didn't say anything. Instead, opting to beam rather widely at him, feigning innocence as she pointed to the slip of paper she had just handed him.

"And, well look at that," she began with mock astonishment. "We have a meeting beginning in a half an hour. Why don't you come with me?"

Suzaku hesitated, glancing from the paper to his watch, not even bothering to verify the time. This was Milly and if she was the same as he remembered - he believed she was - than their entire encounter had been expertly planned and entirely intentional. Although not looking like very much, Milly had always been capable of trying her hand at being a puppet master and, in that moment, Suzaku felt his strings pull taut. The blonde, who by some unlawful work of whatever deity she happened to believe in, somehow managing to make five years of separation disappear almost instantaneously as she pulled him back into her fold.

"I, uh -" he began, knowing very well that it was a pointless fight as the Ashford heiress placed a manicured hand upon his lips, silencing him with a wink.

"Thank you so much for taking me up on my offer! I just knew you'd want to!" The words spilled out of her with unparalleled glee and, not for the first time but for, rather, for the first time in awhile, Suzaku entertained the possibility of Milly needing a hobby.

"It really hasn't been the same without you," she continued, a small frown upon her face that almost - almost made Suzaku feel bad for missing years worth of her schemes.

However, that quickly vanished the minute she dropped three large boxes - all of which were pulled seemingly from thin air - in his arms. Giving a cheeky wink and saying in a, what would soon be described as pain inducing, sultry voice:

"Do be a good boy and carry those for me will you? After all, we can't have things changing too much from how they once were."

And things hadn't changed that much.

The notion struck Suzaku the moment he stepped foot in the room that was to be designated for the Community Outreach and Event Planning Committee.

Different room.

Same obnoxiously lavish decor.

Relatively the same club as its younger counterpart.

And, most importantly, the same people.

All the old student council members were there; aged a bit, but there nonetheless, and still ingrained in the routines that they had had so long ago. Rivalz ogling Milly, a wide grin plastered across Shirley's face, the top of Nina's head peaking out from a computer, and Azalea strangely missing.

It was nostalgic almost, even more so when, in a typical Milly fashion, the blonde waved her hands towards Suzaku with a dramatic flair, voice bubbling with laughter as she exclaimed, "look who I found wandering around campus. Do you think we can keep him?"

She punctuated her statement with a wink and that was all that it took to drive Shirley to her feet, the ginger launching herself into Suzaku's arms.

"Suzaku!" She cried, voice muffled as she buried her head into his shoulder. "How have you been?"

"Alright," Suzaku responded, scratching his neck nervously. That wasn't a lie necessarily; he had been doing alright recently. What happened before then didn't matter.

Of course, Shirley didn't seem to buy into his statement, eyes narrowing at him before her voice dropped into a whisper. "How have you been after your father's…" she trailed off and Suzaku stiffened.

For a fleeting moment, Armageddon seemed to crash down upon him, smoke filling his lungs and blood-rushing in his ears, before the startlingly vivid gaze of Shirley seemed to drag him out of his stupor. Green, green, green eyes gazing at him with such concern that he gave a small smile, ignoring the ashes he felt coating his body.

"I'm sorry…" she began, biting her lip. "I was just worried about you. But, it isn't my place to…"

Suzaku shook his head, cutting her off by tightening their hug. "It's okay, Shirley, I know you meant well." He shot her crooked smile. "And, don't worry. I'm over it."

The ginger still looked doubtful, even as she pulled away from him, but she didn't say anything else on the matter and neither did Suzaku.

He wasn't angry at her for bringing up the subject. It was bound to come up eventually and he'd rather Shirley of all people to mention it, knowing that she'd at least bring up out of concern.

Shirley had a good heart; she was one of the few Britannians he knew to posses such a trait.

Sure, some were nice or friendly, but rarely did they possess the soul-wrenching empathy that seemed to be encoded into the green-eyed woman's very being.

Just like Milly, she had welcomed him with open arms and that was something that he would never forget. In fact, at times he wondered if things would have been different if he had become closer to her rather than fall prey to the strange, almost irresistible pull, that Azalea had upon people.

He highly doubted she would be so quick to stop writing to him.

"Hey, you're not going all sappy on me, are you?" Rivalz jested, cutting into Suzaku's musings, impish grin upon his face. "We finally have you back and you're doing what? Reciting proverbs in your mind or whatever you Japanese folks do?"

Suzaku rolled his eyes. Trust Rivalz to lighten the mood with his ignorance. Although he had never been particularly close with the boy, now man, as the bluenette had been more of Azalea's friend than his own, it still meant a lot that he wasn't eyeing him with the same distaste that Nina appeared to be harboring. A slight nod in his direction being the only indication that she had registered his presence.

Indeed some things never changed.

However, as Rivalz let out a squeak, Milly having whacked him upon the head whilst hissing a "be nice you, idiot", Suzaku was struck with the notion that perhaps some things were better left the same.

For all the change he was experiencing, never mind the clandestine organization he had just so happened to join, it was nice to see that his old friends were relatively the same people and more than willing to accept him with open arms.

Some continuities were nice.

* * *

 ** **Disclaimer:**** I hold no authorization towards the Code Geass fandom

 ** **Author's Note:**** I'm back! Sorry for the delay, school just started up for me and, let me just tell you, AP classes are not fun. On the bright side, I didn't go a month without updating. Sure, I was close, but not quite there yet hahaha - it's the little battles. I've got to warn you, this chapter isn't one of my best one's for the story, being more of a filler than everything because, for some apparent reason, I always end up writing fluff when I'm writing from the perspective of this world's Suzaku. So, for those of you who like long paragraphs about thoughts and feelings, this story is for you. Unless I get over this weird Suzaku-problem I've got going on. I need to bring Kallen in or something - a kickass character that can stir things up because, for all of his towering ideals, Suzaku's more of a soldier than a revolutionary. Alas, he does have an ever so interesting perspective to produce. Please continue hitting me up with that constructive criticism and insight, it does wonders to improve my writing both grammatically and help me learn how to better convey my ideas. As always, thank you for checking out one of my stories!

 ** **Other Story Notices:**** I just posted the next chapter to my Harry Potter fanfiction, __Theophilus__ , for those of you who are following it and, if you haven't seen it yet, make sure to check out my Suzaku/fem!Lelouch role reversal one shot, __Infrared__. It's weird, but I'm proud of it all the same.

 ** **ryder77:**** That's a bit of an extreme headcanon, but who knows. You could be on to something. As for the codebearers? Well, they're there, they're definitely there, we just haven't encountered them yet.

 ** **Guest:**** Awe, I'm really glad you like my Kallen. As for Azalea and Rolo, well you'll just have to wait and see. I like to always have some sort of subplot/mystery on the backburner.

 ** **daliapvperez:**** Gracias!

 ** **Rilliane:**** Is one's personality and looks not the very thing that defines a character? Hypothetically speaking of course, because I do so love playing the devil's advocate teehee. But, seriously, thank you so much for diligently sticking with my story, especially when it can be all over the place at times. Your reviews are always very thought provoking and, as a writer, I really appreciate that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Blackbird**

 **Chapter 8**

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

By the time the meeting ended, it was well past nine o'clock with the sun having long ago slunk beneath the horizon, revealing the still darkness of night. The meeting, itself, had gone far longer than expected, filled with a plethora of ice-breakers that Suzaku forgot even existed and a bottle of champagne that the Ashford heiress had smuggled out of her parent's liquor cabinet. Now, hours later, Suzaku found himself desperately trying to move the mountainous pile of Christmas gift boxes that Milly had thrust upon him, dramatically saying they were to be deposited upon 'Lady Helena' - whatever the hell that meant - before darting out of committee room.

It was only by some act of God, not that Suzaku necessarily subscribed to Christianity having been a devout follower of Shintoism for the majority of his childhood, that Shirley stayed late to organize club paperwork. If she had not, he would have certainly been found dead beneath an insurmountable pile of tacky reindeer wrapping paper once the authorities managed to unearth his corpse. Hardly a fitting death for a revolutionary.

However, Shirley had stayed and fueled by that inexplicable kindness that she seemed to possess, immediately offered a hand upon seeing the deathtrap of boxes that loomed precariously over his head.

"What even?" she questioned, although it came out as more of statement. A look of bewilderment was pasted upon her features as she moved to grab some of the boxes teetering atop his rather impressive stack of neatly wrapped presents before they had the chance to fall. "I can't believe Milly gave you so many, especially on your first day. That's evil even for her."

"More moving, less talking," Suzaku wheezed out, far too focused upon not dropping the towering stack of supplies that Milly had ladened him with to gift the redhead with an adequate response. Hopefully she understood Morse Code or else his rapidly blinked 'thank you' would have been in vain.

"Where does Milly want us to put these?" Shirley inquired, leaving Suzaku to desperately flounder upon how to convey such information.

While verbally expressing it was the obvious answer, he worried that the air waves and slight disruption within the sound barrier might cause the entire pile to topple over, leading to his inevitable demise, which was just not an acceptable resolution. Suzaku did not crawl through the hell that was human trafficking just to die at the hands of sparkly snowman.

However, it was the only option he had, as he was still unaware of what exactly a 'Lady Helena' was, and even if he were, physical directioning caused an alarming amount of disturbances, particularly with one's center of gravity which just spelled disaster when it came to balancing. Therefore, with great resignation, Suzaku dropped his voice to that of a mere whisper.

"Lady Helena," he mumbled.

Shirley, who apparently didn't have super hearing, shot him a look of confusion. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"Milly told me to put the boxes on 'Lady Helena'," he reiterated, having stressfully raised his voice slightly.

Thankfully, the words seemed to register with Shirley that time, if the bright smile she shot him was any indication.

"Oh, Lady Helena! She's the couch at the far end of the room. Milly bought her a few years back from a garage sale to rebel against her parents. Apparently the funds went to an anti-segregation campaign." she stated.

Following her gaze, Suzaku registered the heinous creation that was a Lady Helena. No matter how noble the cause, that gaudy, velvet monstrosity should have never been bought, never mind christened with a name. Nevertheless, with a sigh of both relief and disgust, he set the pile down, the boxes sliding from his arms onto the couch in an avalanche of colorful wrapping that was far more aggressive than he had intended it to be. He cringed upon hearing the dull clanks that resulted from the presents jostling one another and desperately hoped that nothing had been broken.

Beside him, Shirley giggled as she unloaded her own collection of gift-wrapped boxes upon Lady Helena, although in a much more reserved manner, having evidently caught sight of the panic etched across his features.

"Don't worry! I doubt you broke anything and, even if you did, I highly doubt Milly would do anything too drastic. She just found you, after all, so she's not going to want to chase you off so soon." Shirley stated, smiling at him in a manner that she probably thought was reassuring; but, only reminded Suzaku more of the mess he had gotten himself into.

Only a week into his life as a student attending Ashford Academy, something that was supposed to be no more than a reconnaissance mission to sniff out minority sympathizers, and he had already found himself roped back into the whirlwind that was Milly Ashford and her beloved student council. Something that, with the limited knowledge he knew of his enigmatic employer, had probably been El's plan all along. Fucking conniving, Britannian snot.

Shirley, perhaps having interpreted his silence as panic, gazed at him with concern. "Really, she won't be mad! I promise!" she reiterated, moving to neatly stack the mess of boxes. "If anything, she'd be mad at me for interrupting your hazing."

"It's okay, Shirley, I'm not worried. I'm more concerned with figuring out whatever antic she'll decide to throw upon me next," Suzaku responded, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. "And, please don't worry about stacking up those boxes. You're just making me feel like I'm taking advantage of you now."

"If you say so," Shirley conceded dubiously, not even bothering to hide her disbelief. "But, I'm certainly not going to let you deal with a raging Milly alone."

She shook her head in fond exasperation, lips curling upwards at the thought of the overzealous blonde. "She truly is a world onto her own."

Suzaku snorted, lazily stretching his arms over his head. "I'd say more along the line of a box of crazy."

"That is pretty accurate," Shirley admitted, her small nose wrinkling up as she graced the Japanese man with a snort of her own. "But, really, what did you expect? Joining the club right before Christmas and all."

Suzaku knew what she was referring to. Since the creation of the student council, Milly had made it a tradition to celebrate token Britannian holidays with extravagant parties, Christmas often being the most elaborately planned for. Any student council member, former or current, knew this, yet...

"I don't believe I really had all that much of an opinion in the matter, to be honest." he offered dryly, not that most individuals truly did once the Ashford heiress had her eyes set upon something.

"You can't really reason with her, can you?" Shirley pondered aloud, delicate eyebrows pulling together in thought. "It's almost like she's a cat, always wanting to sink her claws into her newest catch."

She flashed him a bright smile, a giggle bubbling up beneath her lips and, not for the first time that day, a sharp pang of envy resonated within his very soul. A poignant strand of jealousy for the carefree life that he had never been granted. It was gone as soon as it came, buried beneath the the swirling sea of his past as Shirley's smile softened.

"I guess that's what makes this club so fun to be a part of. There's always something new and exciting upon the horizon." Her eyes crinkled. "It's one of the many reasons why I'm so happy to be Milly's friend."

She paused and within that fraction of time, Suzaku could feel the whole universe stop breathing as opportunities - missed and future - yawned before him. Almost as if it were an afterthought, she gazed serenely up at him. "It's also how I was able to become friends with you."

A blush lightly dusted her cheeks and all Suzaku could do was blink, momentarily stunned by the amount of compassion that was stored within Shirley's small body. It was like a fountain, spilling out of her and dosing those around her with a gentle mist, so unexpected that it was almost off-putting, yet not.

Her feet shuffled nervously, scuffing the glimmering gemstone floor. "I'm sorry. I'm rhapsodizing, aren't I?"

"No, no, you're fine," Suzaku hurried. "Just… thank you Shirley. What you said means a lot."

The redhead tilted her head in the curious sort of bemusement of one who didn't quite grasp the gravity of their own words. "Oh, it's no problem!" Came her simple response. She had always been this way, since the moment he met her all those years ago in the middle of a crowded hallway, desperately trying to pick up his plethora of spilled books off of a glittering floor that had probably cost more than his entire inheritance combined. She had stopped to help him then, just as she had stopped to help him today, leaning down and shooting him that gentle smile of hers as if helping a total stranger was the obvious course of action to take. "It truly is wonderful to have you back and, trust me, I would never dare throw you to the wolves - Milly in this case - without telling you all that you need to know. Oh, there's just so much we have to catch up on…"

She trailed off, seemingly caught in her own world. Suzaku knew what El expected him to do in a situation like this and, if he were being honest with himself, he wasn't necessarily against the notion. However, as he opened his mouth to inquire, he couldn't help but hope that a part of him speaking was more than just a soldier of the Black Knights, but rather the little, green-eyed boy who had so desperately wanted to make friends in a school just like this.

"We should definitely catch up. I should have some downtime open up in the next couple of days and I haven't exactly had a chance I really explore the area, so if you know any guides…" he paused uncertainty, giving her a lopsided grin, before sheepishly looking down on the chromatic watch that the Black Knights had provided for him. "And, I know I probably suck, but I've also got to be heading home."

Shirley smiled, a lovely little thing that held a tangible air of gentleness to it, and suddenly Suzaku was nine again, staring wide-eyed at the hand of a small girl with long orange hair and eyes just as green as his own.

"I'd love to be your guide, Suzaku."

Her voice was warm and her cheeks adorned with that soft blush that he had associated with her ever since they were children. For a brief moment, it was if nothing had ever changed. Yet, the soft click of the door opening, loud within the stillness of the room, broke the mirage.

Everything had changed and as Suzaku met Azalea's purple gaze, that truth couldn't ring clearer.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" the Britannian princess inquired politely, elegantly tucking an ebony lock behind her ear. "I wasn't under the impression that the meeting today was longer than an hour."

"Oh, it isn't, Lea! Suzaku and I just had to stay after to sort out the gifts for the Christmas extravaganza - you know how Milly is - and were catching up. Have you had the chance to talk with him yet? You guys were practically inseparable back when we all attended Ashford Academy."

Shirley's sentence was rushed, her face having turned a rather violent shade red as she gazed at the black haired faye, nervously twisting a strand of her orange hair around her finger.

"Unfortunately, we've only had the opportunity to chat briefly," Azalea admitted, her voice disappointed.

Ever sympathetic, Shirley's face fell, eyes darting from the Britannian heiress's distraught face to the bewilderment that had overtaken Suzaku's features.

"Perhaps, you guys can catch up now then?" she suggested hopefully and Suzaku resisted the urge to groan. The last thing he wanted right now was to engage in an awkward conversation with the Britannian princess, never mind the fact that he really did need to get home, les he be retitled from the "Asian" to the "lazy Asian" by not doing his classwork.

"As much as I'd love to, Rolo expects me home for dinner tonight and you do know how he gets," Azalea offered and upon hearing her response, Suzaku was overwhelmed with a wave of relief. "I'm just here to fetch some papers for Milly, so don't mind me."

Shirley shook her head fondly, giving the violet-eyed girl a friendly wave. "Same old Azalea," she sighed, turning towards Suzaku. "I'll just go and grab my coat then. You said you have to go, right?"

"Yeah," Suzaku admitted, glad to have escaped another tense conversation with Azalea. He politely held open the door for Shirley as they exited, traditional etiquette his father had drilled into him resurfacing with ease despite its years of misuse. "I'm staying in the dorm complex on South Williams Street."

Shirley's eyes alight with understanding. "That's off the east side of campus, right?"

"Maybe?" Suzaku conceded, not knowing nearly enough information about the layout of Ashford University to discern which side he lived on. "You probably know better than me."

"Okay, true," Shirley said, her voice muffled by laughter. "I'd offer to walk you home, but I'm staying on the west side. My family has a penthouse over there."

She bit her lip in thought and Suzaku could just tell that she was considering going out of her way to help get him home. However, before she could offer anything, he waved her off. "Don't worry, I've got the transportation handled" - he didn't - "so, feel free to head home now. I don't want to keep you out late."

"At least let me give you my number, then. We'll have to plan a day to meet up." Hastily, she took his phone - a flimsy little thing that El had provided for him, and imputed her contact information, before sending herself a text. "There! Now you can contact me and I can contact you."

She flashed him a bright smile and with a quick thank you, along with some list minute pleasantries of which there were many promises to make plans, Suzaku sent her on her way, offering a wave as a sleek limousine pulled up to the curb.

"Don't forget!" she tossed over her shoulder as she entered the vehicle. "Remember, I'm just one text away."

Suzaku just smiled, waving her off before she decided to try to offer him a ride again.

The minute she pulled out of sight, he instantly regretted refusing a ride, the distance between where the meeting took place and his room becoming abundantly clear as he began his slow trek back to the South Williams dorm complex. It was only after a whirlwind of haggling with a taxi driver and almost getting mugged that he finally found himself facing the bland door of his college dorm, hand hovering over the glimmering keyhole as he unlocked it.

The door swung open slowly and Suzaku froze, pale eyes and an explosion greeting him.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I don't really have much of a reason for not updating besides life, so we're going to steer clear of that part of the author's note for today. What I can say, is that I've managed to churn out this chapter (how well done it is, is up to you to decide) and will hopefully be able to hammer out another one within a month. We can only cross our fingers and hope for the best, after all. In the meantime, there are a few updates I need to address. For one, I changed the title of this story. I'd like to say it was because inspiration hit; but, in reality, the original name was annoyingly long and my lazy ass decided something shorter was in order. Thankfully, I had the motivation to actually edit all of the individual chapter titles after this change, so at least this story has some semblance of normalcy. For those of you following my other stories, I should hopefully be updating (again, fingers crossed) my Harry Potter TomXJames story this week, so stay posted for that. As always, thank you for checking out one of my stories. I really appreciate the fact that y'all haven't been deterred by my infrequent updates because I probably wouldn't have the same patience if I was one of the readers. Though, to be fair, I'm not sure if I'd be reading this story to begin with. Anyways, same drill as always. Constructive criticism is a god send, but please not phrased aggressively. I am flammable after all ;)

 **Guest:** Yeah, I like Shirley a lot as a character just because of sheer fact that she's such a pure individual. She's one of the few characters in Code Geass that never really did anything wrong or get mixed up in anything that should have harmed. She was just another victim of happenstance, so it's nice to be able to give her a bit of a platform in this fanfiction. I'm not at liberty to say if she'll die or not; however, she will play a large role in this arc of the story.\

 **matronium:** Lelouch is a conniving one, so you never really know with him. Just the more reason to keep reading *wink* *wink*


	9. Chapter 9

**Blackbird**

 **Chapter Nine**

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

Classes were canceled the next week, an attempt on Empire Nikkolas's life having put the entire capital into lockdown. This, of course, wasn't necessarily advertised to the public and Suzaku wouldn't have been aware of the reasoning behind the closure if Lloyd hadn't taken it upon himself to explain it.

Lloyd was Suzaku's newfound roommate, pale-eyed and the bringer of routine explosions. He was also a twenty-three-year-old genius or, to be more aptly classified, a mad scientist who, despite already having a masters in both physics and calculus, decided he wanted to add biochemistry to the mix. And, atop it all, a batshit crazy lunatic who was willing to do anything in the name of science.

This much had been obvious the moment Suzaku had opened the door to his dorm room only to find his hair set a flame by a botched experiment. Lloyd, the lavender haired demon that he was, hadn't seemed to possess even a sliver of remorse, lighter in hand as he inquisitively looked at the train wreck that had become Suzaku's hair as if the charred remains held the secret to the universe.

Perhaps it was because he was exhausted or the fact that his hair looked like it had just been through a wildfire, but when the lab coat adorned snot decided it was in his best interest to touch the mess atop Suzaku's head, brittle strands breaking off at contact, the Japanese boy lost it. Ten seconds later, Lloyd was found nursing a black-eye in the making upon the cold floor while Suzaku stared wide-eyed at the quickly forming lawsuit unfurling before his very eyes.

"Oh-hoh, very interesting," had come the obnoxious tenor, Lloyd gingerly pressing the fleshy skin beneath his left eye. "It appears I've been assaulted."

Suzaku winced. "I, ah, wouldn't call it assault exactly. More along the lines of a lapse in control?" he wagered hopefully, sounding of so very much like the hopeless side vendors who despite the outlandishly awful odds against them, desperately tried to pitch a product that nobody was going to buy.

It was a valiant effort that was neither valiant nor full of much effort as Lloyd, appearing to be almost affronted by Suzaku's obnoxiously obvious attempt at playing the whole confrontation off, clucked his tongue with disapproval.

"No, I'm pretty sure you assaulted me." He shook his head, a despondent air to it. "Not even giving me the proper chance to introduce myself before resorting to violence. Such barbarianism, but, truly, what is one to expect from one of your folks."

He leaned back on his heels, a pleasant smile upon his face as if he had not just made an objectively racist comment in the face of a conversation that was clearly already a ticking time bomb.

Suzaku's eyebrow twitched at the jab, face caught in a disconcerting mix of panic and annoyance. Despite his frequency of going into elongated tangents about not hurting the innocent, a monologue in it of itself that he had almost perfected, homicide had begun looking rather promising.

Of course, Suzaku obviously wouldn't follow through with such an ideal, but that did not make the concept any less of an encouragement as he intoned dryly. "Thanks."

"Of course, nature aside, you've put me in quite the predicament." Lloyd remarked with a false sense of pleasantness, eyes practically dissecting Suzaku in a manner that screamed his intentions were certainly not favorable for the Japanese boy. "Because of that little stunt you pulled my already weakened vision might become desolate, something that would significantly impact the quality of my work, a catastrophic occurrence if there ever was one. Such an outcome would undoubtedly warrant your sound expulsion and possible deportation, of course, if they don't take one look at your features and decide that it's off to the gallows with you. But, do not fear, I am in dire need of assistance and I'm sure such a generous fellow like you would jump at the chance to lend a hand."

He leaned backwards, hands clasped neatly behind his back, face frozen in that smug little grin of his that had yet to wash away from his features within the span of their conversation. It was with dawning horror that Suzaku had realized the inconceivable fact that Lloyd had been the type of child that enjoyed ripping the wings of butterflies. Plucking one and watching - watching to see how the creature attempted to overcome such a feet - before removing yet another.

Perhaps Suzaku was over-reacting, the toll of a late night after an exhausting week finally playing her hand, but as Lloyd eyed him with unrestrained glee, the mask of Hannibal Lector sliding ever so precariously upon his face, Suzkau didn't think so. Madness was one thing, but one could not recreate the chilling feeling of being a small black ant beneath a battered microscope.

Yet, while weighing the likelihood of Lloyd being Lector incarnated, Suzaku forgot one key factor and that was the man himself. The lanky figure gazing at him in a variant of twisted amusement.

"Now, now, don't get ahead of yourself, Mr. Kururguri. I'm not asking for anything outrageous." The airy tone of his voice conveying the exact contrary. "I'm just in the need of new lab assistant. It comes with the line of work, you know?"

"Line of work." Suzaku responded dubiously, tracing over the other man's messy bedhead and over-sized labcoat that basically screamed unemployment.

"Of course," Lloyd had continued on, not the least bit deterred by Suzaku's lackluster response. "By the Britannian government no less. I'm the one who helps design those big flashy knightmare frames. The Aegis-13 is my precious baby."

He clapped his hands together, blissful expression upon his face akin to a mother talking fondly about their child. "Who knew how much chemistry was involved in the creation of Sakuratite receptors. Apparently a lot and I wouldn't trust any of those ill-equipped government brats within an inch of any of my precious creations and their generators, so here I am, back to school once more."

Suzaku offered a weak smile as the man fell into a triad, quickly contemplating his entire existence. It wasn't the first time he had done such a thing; however, finding out his roommate was a psychotic mastermind who probably related more to an engine than the human heart was the cherry atop a long list of misfortunate happenstances that had befallen him.

What was escaping human trafficking worth if dissection by a mad scientist was the next probable demise?

Probably a decent amount, for anything was better than that hellhole. Never again would Suzaku disregard the simple blessing of freewill, even if it led him right into the crushing jaws of a gear-obsessed monster.

Fortunately for him, Suzaku wasn't forced to come to a conclusion regarding the topic, instead being pulled into the ten-minute version of Lloyd's life story. It was at this time, between the tale of his first run in with the law - being arrested for unregistered possession of mercury-51, something that Suzaku somehow didn't find all that surprising - and the two masters he already had, that Suzaku was finally graced with his name.

And, so it was, that Suzaku officially met Lloyd, for can one even consider themselves acquainted if they have yet to exchange names? No, not really. And, with Lloyd's logic, proper acquaintanceship also required a detailed telling of the last four roommates one had and the various ways they drove them off. Truly, Suzaku could have lived without hearing about the one who had almost gotten decapitated from the lavender haired man's homemade service robot.

He, admittedly, dozed off around the time that Lloyd had begun speaking about last assistant, some Britannian woman that had apparently just given birth because thank heavens that even though minorities weren't able to find work in over half the nation, at least the government gave out paid maternity leave like it was free candy. Really, Suzaku should have probably been more attentive during that part to at least figure out what he had gotten himself into.

However, sleep had seemed far more appealing at the time which was how Suzaku found himself, only eight-days later, preparing to add another criminal offense to his growing history as a political dissident with the help of Lloyd.

Prior to proposing his idea, Lloyd had explained with a casual sort of dismissal that only a long-term Pendragon resident could achieve, that classes had been basically cancelled because of yet another attempt on Emperor Nikkolas's life. This, of course, wasn't broadcasted to be the reasoning behind over half of the staffs absence; however, in the words of Lloyd, assassination attempts apparently occurred like clockwork, at least one every three months, and anyone who had been living within the Britannian capital for more then a year was aware of that very fact.

Still, Suzaku felt that it was a bit extreme to basically shut down the entire capital, with grocery stores of all things even closing their doors for the week, because of it. Perhaps, Suzaku just didn't value security as much as them, but closing down the local Wegmans seemed like overkill.

Lloyd, of course, had explained that a lot of the measures had been implanted as a result of the manner of the previous emperor's death, Emperor Charles, but Suzaku still failed to see the correlation. Charles, who for some unconceivable was still relevant despite being six feet under for over twenty years, had committed suicide of all things. When he expressed as much, the Britannian had responded by choosing to laugh, clucking his tongue in that _tsk tsk_ manner of his, before making some offhanded comment about how Britannian corruption was such an old song that they could all sing along in harmony.

So, it was with a combination of confusion and annoyance that Suzaku received Lloyd Asplund's daring plan, the Britannian man's lips curling into that eerily bright Hannibal Lector smile of his that could have probably been easily replaced by the Glasgow grin of the Cheshire Cat with little notice.

"Today, dumpster diving awaits us," he declared in a valiant manner as if he had just suggested a crusade for the Holy Grail and not a hunt through the landfills of Pendragon. "I need parts for the AG2 design and we have not a moment to spare."

Now, AG2, or "The Destroyer" as Lloyd tended to call it, was an android or, more accurately, Lloyd's first attempt at artificial intelligence that was genuinely sentient. Apparently Britannia was able to create gigantic killing machines but not the opposite. How wonderful.

Whether his expression conveyed all of this, Suzaku didn't quite know, but he suspected something must have slipped through as Lloyd enthusiastically slapped him on the back, smile becoming even wider if it was possible. "Oh, come now. We're aiding in the progress of the international scientific community. If The Destroyer reaches successful completion, than an entirely new cornerstone of biomechanics and pyschotech will be established."

"I understand that," Suzaku responded, trying to smile pleasantly, yet ultimately failing at such a feet. "But, I don't see why I have to come."

Lloyd shook his head in showy exasperation. "Oh, Mr. Kururguri, how naive you are. I need you as my muscle to protect me in case something goes wrong."

The Japanese man frowned, a raised eyebrow bellowing just how unconvinced he was by the entire explanation. "I understand that the capital is in its lock down or whatever -"

"Protocol G5," Lloyd cut in.

"Yeah, that," Suzaku rushed out before his roommate had the chance to begin yet another one of his bemoaning monologues. "But, I don't really think that'll make the authorities arrest you on sight for terrorism just because you were picking through a couple of trash bins."

"If only they were a couple of trash bins," Lloyd sighed. "No, the ones we need to get into are in some of the classified junkyards, not open for public use. You can't find a purple circuited Gravanti router just anywhere, you know? Those work solely off of gama radiation and lots and lots of Sakuradite-based paneling."

Suzaku was dumbfounded and not because of the elaborate part that had just been spat at him, no it was because of something else entirely. "But, don't you work for the government?" he hedged. "Meaning that you can access restricted areas like that?"

The Britannian just shook his head in amusement. "Yes, I work for the government, but that doesn't mean that I'm actually one of their underlings," he quipped out the last word with his eyes directly upon Suzaku as if to convey that he had underlings, not the other way around. "I'm contracted by them so, unfortunately, no free access into that beautiful mechanical paradise of a junkyard."

Suzaku didn't have any answer for that, instead falling back dumbfounded upon his bed. How did it make any logical sense to hire a private contractor to construct one a death machine using state of the art technology, but decide that offering them up old scraps was a breach of national security? He let out another sigh.

"So, you want me, a designated second-class citizen, to help break you into a heavily guarded government facility right after an assassination attempt upon the Empire of Britannia occurred?"

"Preciously."

* * *

"The sky's rather pretty tonight," came Lloyd's voice in the darkness and, not for the first time since they set out, Suzaku whipped around frantically to shush him.

While he already suspected that espionage and Lloyd were not a great combination, he wasn't aware that the two hadn't even heard of each other. Truly, it was just common knowledge to make as least noice as possible or, in Lloyd's lovely case, at least refrain from talking while slinking around late at night in places where you weren't supposed to be. Kami, Suzaku had been stuck in a ten by ten fighting cage for at least a quarter of his life and even he knew this.

Though, that wasn't exactly a fair justification, was it? Especially since he had been taught beneath sword master Toto and participated in many stealth drills before that unfortunate happenstance. Still, that didn't excuse Lloyd's complete lack of knowledge. He commissioned weapons for the Britannian military, so one would think that some semblance of combative common sense would have transferred over.

By the ruckus Lloyd was making, even going as far to hum, he wouldn't be holding his breath on that one any time soon.

"What's with the silent treatment?" the pale-eyed demon quipped and Suzaku had never been more sure in his life that the devil wore a white lab coat.

"Please, can you just shut up for a moment," he hissed, tearing at his hair or, at least, the fluffy almost but not quite buzzcut that was left of it.

He didn't need to turn around to know that Lloyd was wearing that ridiculous grin of his. In fact, even if he did turn around, Suzaku probably wouldn't see it in the dim lighting; however, for some reason unknown to him, he could practically feel it.

"And, what are you going to do if I don't be quite?" the Britannian responded although he at least had te decency to somewhat whisper it. "Invoke another court case upon yourself, because I'm pretty sure that's how you got into this mess in the first place."

"So, you admit this is a mess?" Suzaku pressed.

"Oh, no, maybe for you, but certainly not for me. No, this is a stupendous adventure in my eyes."

Suzaku groaned. "Adventure my ass," he mumbled, moving to scale the fence before him. His legs swung over the top with ease as all of his weight balanced precariously upon his hands before he dropped to the ground, knees bent upon impact. Barely any noise was made.

For a brief second he considered just abandoning Lloyd there, knowing very well that the scientist had nowhere near the required amount of athletic ability to scale the imposing tower that the wall made. However, with his luck, the other man would probably end up being even more of a hinderance if he was left to his own devices. That was something Suzaku certainly wasn't going to risk.

Therefore, with a fleeting lick of resigned exasperation, an emotion that had begun plaguing him often, he unlocked the metal gate, watching as the towering structure slid open with a creak. From behind it, came the bubbling figure of Lloyd.

"Truly, you could have been a bit quicker about that whole thing," he lamented, launching into a harrowing list of all the grievances he held against Suzkau. "Not all of us are ninja's you know, although -"

Suzaku raised a hand. "Do not even attempt finish that statement," he interjected before Lloyd had the chance to make some racist remark. For all that Lloyd didn't technically look down upon Suzaku anymore than he looked down upon the vast majority of Britannia, he still had an odd penchant for insensitive quips.

Perhaps he was, at his core, just as racist as the common civilian within Pendragon, yet Suzaku suspected it was more of a superiority complex or, at the very least, stemmed from the man's strange inability to genuinely care for others.

Whatever the reason, while Suzaku had begun contemplating the intricacies of Lloyd's personality, the man in question had slunk off down the deserted field to the large heap of junk that awaited it in the middle of the clearing. The landfill steadily expanding outward like a cornucopia from a crackpot's heaven.

"Lloyd," Suzaku hissed, watching with rapt attention as any semblance of self preservation his roommate might have possessed dissipated before his very eyes. He flinched as the noisy clunking of scarp metal banging against each other resounded through the clearing as Lloyd absentmindedly dug through the scarp heap as if they weren't in the middle of federal territory.

"Lloyd," he repeated. "Get back here! Kami, we're going to get caught if you keep this up."

To punctuate his sentence, he made a sharp jab towards the watch tower on the far side of the compound where whatever unfortunate government lackey was posted and probably currently taking a nap. Suzaku wanted it to stay that way, with the federal agent passed out and unaware of the people currently thieving through the junkyard, but with the ruckus Lloyd was making he wasn't so sure it would.

"If you can't find it within yourself to be quite, at least try to hurry up."

Finally, a response was roused out of the Britannian, the pale man momentarily turning to face Suzaku before returning to his scavenging. "Have patience. Things like this require a delicate touch."

Suzaku snorted, the sharp crash of something shattering proving quite the contrary. "Just try to be fast about it."

Lloyd waved him off with a lazy shake of his hand. He squatted down lower to inspect a rather shiny pile of scarps, nose practically brushing against the reflective metal. His frame had hunched in upon itself, both lithe and compact somehow at the same time like a baby bird just awkwardly growing into itself.

Almost, as if sensing Suzaku's view upon him, the Britannian lifted his head upwards, pale eyes shining silver in the moonlight. Then, with palpable excitement, he shot upwards, glittering fragment held within his hand as he crowed to the heavens.

"Eureka!"

For a second, the world seemed to freeze upon its axis, holding its breath for a mere lick of time in wonderment because an android - a freaking android - was in the making and the once inconceivable dream of a sentient equal only that much more achievable.

Then, the universe, with a finality that lamented upon its utter disregard for the triumphants of its inhabits and the struggles they undertook, roared. The watchtowers lights and others across the compound turning systematically on in a wave of fluorescent light of doom as everything went to jack shit.

Instinctively Suzaku fell into a slightly crouched stance, adrenaline racing through him as his flight of fight response kicked in. Desperately, he bolted across the field, grabbing the madly laughing Lloyd who was still mumbling Eureka beneath his breath and pulling them as far away from the watch tower, where the handful of soldiers on staff had begun pouring out of, as possible.

Almost, as if to taunt them, the far fence loomed ominously over their heads, no door in sight, and Suzaku knew with a finality that he wouldn't be able to get Lloyd over it in time. For a brief second, he considering leaving behind the Britannian who would probably experience less harsh treatment than if he were to be caught anyways, but he quickly discarded the idea. Lloyd was a fickle little thing and Suzaku had no idea whether he would turn him in for such a slight - he suspected he would.

Besides that, Lloyd was beginning to trail dangerously behind, Suzaku pulling him forward at a far faster rate than his legs were currently managing. It was undeniable that they weren't going to make it out alive at this rate.

"We need a new plan."

Lloyd answered with a wheezing sigh as if to convey his utter agreement upon that matter, still managing to roll his eyes upon what he believed to be an obvious statement despite heavily panting.

He raised his hand, jerkily pointing a bit to their left and Suzaku followed the motion, gaze landing upon a rust bucket of chipped paint that could hardly pass for a motorized scooter, much less a knightmare frame.

"You want me to pilot that?" He inquired dubiously, not even sure if the contribution would survive past initial contact.

"Yes," his roommate and now alleged criminal partner responded briskly between winded gasps.

Suzaku just glanced from the frame to the wall and then back to Lloyd. As much as he hated to admit it, the archaic weapon was probably their best option.

Not even bothering to spare Lloyd a response, he dragged them towards the knightmare, feet sliding upon the ground, slick with soaking debris and wet grass. Almost animalisticly, he shoved Lloyd atop the contraption sliding him into the cockpit with unparalleled urgency as the swarm of Britannian soldiers approached them.

"This is going to be a bit tight," he warned, back shoving against Lloyd's front as he crushed him into the seat. The door to the cockpit somehow managed to miraculously close and upon its closure, he wrenched the machine into start, breathing a sigh of relief as it whirled to life upon his fingerprints, old piloting knowledge resurfacing after all those years.

The gears were stiff and not the most responsive; however, with a forceful push upwards, the machine managed to fold out from itself, teetering precariously yet not collapsing.

"We're in for a bumpy ride," he murmured, the knightmare frame propelling forward with a jerky start as soldiers began closing in upon them. "Just hold on tight and pray to whatever god you believe in."

"I'm an atheist," came the dry response and Suzaku couldn't help but crack a smile.

"All the more fitting. Were we're going, we won't be seeing no god."

He tried to push the knightmare upwards, over the wall; however, as if to punctuate his statement, it instead crashed straight through the towering fence, the universe's "fuck you" resounding clearly as they become emerssed in rubble.

"Oh dear, that didn't sound good," Lloyd murmured against Suzaku's back as the clank of the knightmare's right arm falling off resounded through the small space.

"Yeah, it didn't," Suzaku gritted out, forcing the knightmare forward as it unexpectedly wobbled to its feet once more. It's movements were even jerker than before, and it was only thanks to Suzaku's quick reflexes that they were kept from being impaled by a street lamp. They, unfortunately, didn't prevent them from running headfirst into a tree.

Thankfully, the collision didn't occur until they had put a decent amount of distance between them and the Britannia's fortified army of the trash heap which, now when their lives were not in such imminent danger, was becoming rather humorous.

With a hopeful push upon the gas pedal and tap at the control panel, Suzaku attempted to get a response out of the totaled machine, only to receive the pathetic whimper of the knightmare's engine as it died.

Suzaku sighed. "I don't think we're going to be getting any more millage out of this."

"How unfortunate," Lloyd drawled out. "I just wanted to stay here, crushed into the stiff metal of an outdated, poorly manufactured, piece of junk with you for awhile longer."

He shook his head dismissively and Suzaku could feel his snort of disgust upon his neck, breath coming out in a puff. "This is truly an engineering disaster. I'm surprised you even managed to create decent reflex speed out of something on this level. Truly, Britannia was in desperate need of me if this was what they were shipping out."

As he continued to laminate upon his engineering ingenuity and Britannia's lack of such, Suzaku began working to prop upon the cockpit door. It was trapped in a strange position, half on the ground and slightly bent; however, Suzaku believed with a few quick tugs it would come undone.

Of course, between their divided attention, both weren't nearly as aware of their surroundings as they should have been and it was with a startled gasp, that Suzaku registered the approaching figures, flagged out in black jumpsuits and holding semi-automatic machine guns.

"What part of town are we in exactly," he murmured hesitantly, warily eyeing the destructive threat that the newcomers might pay. Truly, what was their luck to escape the Britannian military only to run into another faction? Although, to be fair, it made a surprising amount of sense that the ruckus they made would draw more attention that just the military.

"I have no idea," Lloyd conceded. "But, for the first time within this past hour, this cockpit is looking rather comfy."

He patted the chair stiffly, seemingly caught between disgust and fond relief upon their inherent safety within the decaying metal death trap. "Now, all we have to do is just wait out the mess in this hulking slab of metal."

"I don't know if that's going to be possible," Suzaku hedged, eyeing their rather batterer enclosure. The walls seemed to almost bend inwards upon themselves, cockpit door flimsy from where he had begun to pry it open, and Suzaku wouldn't be surprised if the headfirst charge through the steel fence had taken any possible defensive stronghold capabilities out of it.

To make matters worse, by now, the figures were far closer and Suzaku could make out their dark skin, ranging from olive to a deep black, against the backdrop of the flickering lampposts. They had an odd sort of appearance, an air about them that did not bear the heavy formality embedded into most Britannian soldiers.

From within the concaving cockpit, he eyed their features, dearly hoping that the conclusion he had begun to formulate was correct - that, the men and women before him were not of Britannian origin, but rather a more Eastern background.

His voice, light as if speaking an louder would cause this tiny sliver of hope to dissipate before his very eyes, carried in the small enclosure.

"Are there rebel factions within this part of Britannia?"

"Obviously. Who else would try to murder Emperor Nikkolas?" Lloyd spoke slowly, as if he was talking to an idiot, which was an admittedly understandable tone to have for such an ridiculously obvious question.

Of course there would be rebel factions in Pendragon. There wouldn't be any other reason to monitor all sources of weaponry, even disregarded scraps found in junkyards, so heavily. Besides, there had just been an assassination attempt which basically reeked of anarchy.

Outside, a slightly accented voice rang strongly through the still air, gun lifted to point at the collapsed hunk of a metal figure that they made.

"Exit with your hands behind your head, or else we're going to shoot."

Suzaku stilled, eyebrows furrowing with thought. "Are these things bullet-proof, Lloyd?"

His roommate and resident weaponry excerpt snorted. "Mine? Yes. This old thing? Ah, probably fifty-fifty at the best."

"Fifty-fifty?" Suzaku ventured.

"Fifty-fifty chance of keeping us alive or not if a casing of bullets was deposited in it."

"Ah, that doesn't sound necessarily promising." He pushed himself upwards from a sitting position, kicking out the door as it landed with a rough clank against the concrete road. "Only one option I guess."

Hesitantly, he edged himself out of the knightmare, making sure to keep his hands high above his head. Behind him, Lloyd shuffled uneasily as he tried to use Suzaku's body as a shield for his. Clearly, he was going to be offering not even a semblance of support in this situation.

Outside of the cockpit, the nozzle of a machine gun greeted him, it's handlers face set in a firm expression that indicated that he had no qualms with firing.

"How unfortunate," Lloyd mused, voice mockingly whimsical. "To think that you'll die before ever being able to resolve your dilemma with Shelia."

"Shirley," Suzaku corrected quickly, refusing to take his eyes off of the gigantic gun pointed at his head. "And, it's not a dilemma, I just don't know what I'm supposed to text her."

Lloyd opened his mouth to make another dry remark; however, he quickly chose to shut it as the gun moved to point at him.

"Stop talking," the owner of the gun, a tall African American man, bit out. "You better be about to give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you up right here."

Suzaku gulped, body stiffening as the nozzle pressed sharply against the olive skin of his forehead.

Almost desperately he forced out, chocking on the words slightly.

"Because I'm a member of the Black Knights."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** As break draws to a close, I have managed to post yet another chapter of this, admittedly, bumpy ride of story. Finally, it seems that the plot has officially taken off and we can only hope that it stays a float. See you next time, hopefully in a quicker time frame than the update before this one occurred in.

 **Other Works:** I swear I'm going to update Theophilus - I swear


	10. Chapter 10

**Blackbird**

 **Chapter Ten**

thebluefrenchhorn

* * *

What did it mean to make peace with one's long-time ex-best friend?

For different individuals that statement took on a variety of meanings.

In Suzaku's case, it meant an awkward dinner with said ex-best friend, her homicidal not-actually-related-to-her-but-actually-related-to-the-organization-he-worked-for little brother, and his, to say the least, eccentric roommate. All topped off with an explosion halfway through the first course and close brush with death as a result of misplaced poison.

If Suzaku knew this was what was in store for him when he contacted his Black Knight's handler, he would have just left town, given up on the rebellion altogether, and accepted that anarchy wasn't the life for him. Of course, hindsight didn't necessarily work in that way which was how Suzaku found himself, thirteen hours, forty-seven minutes and six seconds before the moment that would soon become the terrible highlight of his already atrociously awful first month as a freeman, being tossed brutally by a knightmare simulation.

* * *

"You're taking this all surprisingly well," Suzaku said, wiping the sweat off of his brow as he exited the piloting simulator that Lloyd had rigged up in the corner of their shared apartment.

The Britannian just shrugged in response. "You get to keep your dirty secret and I get a new guinea pig," his eyes trailed over the data pad within his grasp, widening almost comically as he spotted one of the figures. "With, apparently a response speed in the ninety-ninth percentile."

He shook his head, as if looking away from the data pad for a second and clearing his mind, would make the figures disappear. It didn't.

Disbelieving, he ushered Suzaku back into the metal chamber. "We need to re-run those tests again. I doubt that I made any mistake with creating this algorithm, but maybe the receptors malfunctioned. It was iffy to use silicone lined cording instead of a silver juniper composite, but it's just so much cheaper..."

He trailed off with a sigh, closing the bewildered Suzaku back into the simulator.

To be quite frank, Suzaku had absolutely no idea what was going on, but he grudgingly followed Lloyd's orders. After all, the pale-eyed demon had chosen to not turn him in and, even if it was because of objectively ulterior motives, it didn't change the fact that the man was committing treason for him.

In fact, the Britannian had taken the whole reveal with surprising maturity, not questioning Suzaku until after they had escaped the grasping hands of the rebel faction, all of whom were far too starstruck at having met an actual member of the Black Knights to realize that proper questioning about the sincerity of his statement was in order.

Lloyd hadn't even bothered. He had taken one look at the determination plastered across the other man's face, stating rather plainly that Suzaku wasn't crafty enough or smart enough to come up with such a convincing lie. Suzaku hadn't known whether to take offense to that or feel relief at not having to justify himself. In the end, he settled for an awkward sort of confusion as Lloyd shrugged and said he figured as much.

"You are a Kururguri," he had remarked, rolling his eyes at the thought of Suzaku missing something so obvious.

Afterwards, he barely even questioned the Japanese man, instead talking about how he wasn't really in the mood for assistant searching and, besides that, they had some unfinished business, especially after seeing his piloting capabilities upon the junkiest knightmare frame of the century.

Which, all things considered, was how he found himself, a week later having still not called Shirley, promised employment with his clandestine organization to his psychotic roommate, and being thrust into Lloyd's newest death machine.

In reality, the machine was actually one of the mad scientists older creations, having been hauled from wherever Lloyd stored his metal mad houses; however, it was new to Suzaku which was a reason enough to consider it a fresh new invention.

Beside it, lay the discarded, half-finished android that Lloyd had begun commissioning, only to leave forgotten for a rainy day of tinkering.

"You better be hooked up within ten seconds, because that's when I'm turning Belinda on and I really don't want to scrape little chunks of Suzaku smoothie off of the inside of her chamber." Lloyd said obnoxiously and Suzaku could hear that creepy Hannibal Lector of smile of his twisting within his words.

With an audible sigh, he quickly attached the wires to his person, taking hold of the consul in front of his hands before sitting himself down. "Ready when you are."

"Affirmative," Lloyd replied, sounding like he was desperately trying to be professional, before breaking down into muted laughter. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun."

Before him, the screen flashed to life and Suzaku stilled as the light, feminine voice ("from my last assistant, the lovely Cécile Croomy," Lloyd had explained, "curse her fiancé and the idiocy of childbirth") began to count down, numbers flashing upon the screen with it.

Beginning simulation in

 _3_

The chair pushed forward and clicked into place.

 _2_

Mechanical hands lowered a headset upon Suzaku and adjusted it so it rested lightly atop his hair, fitting snuggly against his ears.

 _1_

Pedals rose from the floor beneath Suzaku's feet, various gears following in their wake.

 _Simulation started_

Light washed over the screen, numbers flashing across his eyes, as Suzaku found himself staring into the crumbling rubble of a war zone.

"Your objective, is to save as many civilians as possible," came the voice of his commander, the harsh bass of a sergeant that had seen enough death for ten lifetimes put together. "Complete that, and your mission will be a success."

"Yes, sir," Suzaku replied steadily and, suddenly, it was as if he had never left Japan and was test driving one of the Japanese Guards' elite frames, dodging barricades and soldiers twice is age.

The controls hummed pleasantly beneath his hands and then he was off, curving around screaming pedestrians as he vaulted over piles of debris.

Ahead of him, he spotted the hulking frame of another knightmare looming over a group of terrified children, lance aimed dangerously at them as if it could come crashing down at any second.

"This is Private Suzkau Kururguri. Please step away from those civilians and exit your nightmare in a civilized manner."

As if to spite him, the knightmare did the exact opposite, lurching forward to impale one of the innocents upon its lance. Suzaku rushed toward, the arm of his own knightmare catching the side of the blow, parrying it away from the children.

Quickly, before the enemy could use his other arm to clip Suzaku's blind side or, even worse, thrust him into the swarm of civilians plastered with fear against the crumbling building behind them, Suzaku spun away. His body rotated a couple fractions of a degree, balancing for a brief moment precariously upon one foot as he swung the other round. It connected with the enemy knightmare frame's chest with a thud, forcing it backwards a few steps.

With anticipation, Suzaku bounced upon the balls of his feet, mechanical arms in front of him in a fighter's stance.

"I'm giving you one more chance," he warned, his tone conveying that he was not afraid to sacrifice everything for the people trapped behind them. "Surrender or I will destroy you."

A cold laugh emitted from his enemy's cockpit. It was a sharp and bitter thing that made the hairs upon the back of Suzaku's neck stand up. "Yeah, I wasn't going to hold my breath," he mumbled sourly, body shifting within the metal frame in anticipation for what was to come.

With lightning fast speed, his enemy came crashing down upon him. Suzaku ducked the first punch with ease, almost snorting at its predictability as he countered with a hit of his own on the unguarded paneling of his enemy's left side. Not giving the pilot anytime to regather himself, Suzaku lept into the fray, systematically dodging his opponents wild jabs before he drilled his lance into the delicate wiring of his neck.

"You aren't going to be killing any more innocent people today," he hissed out, lance pulling from where it had sliced clean through the enemy, the opposing knightmare's rolling upon the floor, decapitated, before settling with an eerie still at Suzaku's feet.

Around him, the simulator rang out, voice surrounding him as the message encompassing the screen resounded within him.

 _Mission complete_

Suzaku let out a sigh of relief, haphazardly throwing his headset to the side as he wiped the sweat of his face. Stretching his arms high above his head, he felt his shoulders pop with an audible crick, mouth opened into a silent yawn.

Absentmindedly, he moved to exit the chamber, mind still whirling from the simulation. He let out a curse as the wires pulled taught and snapped off of his body, dearly hoping that nothing was broken.

From outside the simulator, Lloyd's voice could be heard, airy tone covering the threat within his voice. "You better not break anything within there."

"I won't," Suzaku responded with exasperation. "Now, please, let me out."

The door slid open almost instantaneously and Suzuka was met with the grinning face of Lloyd, Hannibal Lector smile pasted across his features. With a flourish, he presented his data pad to the Japanese man, watching with rapt attention as Suzaku confusedly scanned the numbers.

"This is good?" He hedged, taking note of the psychotic happiness his Britannian roommate was radiating.

"That's more than good. You're looking at one of the highest reaction speeds recorded nationwide."

Lloyd threw his hands wildly in the air to puncture his statement, reaching upwards towards the heavens as if he had just been presented with the Messiah and, perhaps, he had. If the data produced was accurate than Suzaku was undoubtably any aerospace engineer or physicists dream. Not that he was exactly enthused with the idea of being a test subject to another physicist - Lloyd was certainly enough on his own.

Yet, he wasn't entirely against a job solely based off of his piloting capabilities, even if it meant dealing with a rag tag collection of eccentric scientists. Truly, the possibility of getting his hands upon another knightmare frame, never mind, freshly designed knightframes almost outweighed the psychological wellbeing he would have to sacrifice - almost, but not quite. At the end of the day, Lloyd had the energy of three scientists and one meth dealer stored within his slender frame and that was already an overload.

Therefore, like any other understandably overwhelmed individual, Suzkau just blinked, scratching his neck sheepishly and letting out a small sigh of an, "oh."

"Oh?" Lloyd repeated incredulously. "You just find out that you're a scientific abnormality and you respond with a, oh?"

Once again, his hands flew into the air, except this time in frustration.

"Do you know how difficult it is to find a pilote competent enough to control the vast majority of my models? Sure, my standard designs are mass produced for the common soldier, but do you know why the Britannian government rarely uses the other vast majority of my designs? Not because they aren't safe, because they are masterfully made, but because they do not have a soldier on their payroll that is skilled enough to control them. And, when a top tier abnormality of a pilot finely drops himself into my lap and runs through Belinda's simulation at level five as if it was child's play, he somehow finds it fitting to eloquently explain it with an 'oh'. What is this life I live." Lloyd stated with emotion, his raging rant of soliloquy pouring out of him as if it was not a washed up Britannian sociopath in his place, but rather the devastatingly tragic pen of William Shakespeare.

Suzaku took one look at the wild gleam in his pale eyes and did the only action that he didn't believe would result in his death. "I'm, ah, sorry about that."

Lloyd seemed rather unconvinced by his hesitant apology, but still shook his head dismissively, falling back into his typical disposition of superiority and disregard for others. "I suppose one can only ask for so much. But, was it really too much to ask for a pilot that was both skilled and sane?"

With exaggerated motion, he ushered Suzaku even further form the machine, forcing the Japanese boy to take refugee on the only area untouched by his multitude of designs - his bed.

Although, by the affronted look that Lloyd was giving the small box of thing, as if it were spitting him by merely taking up floor space, Suzkau wasn't sure how much longer it would be residing within the room.

Already, Lloyd's own bed had been turned into a makeshift storage of flimsy wiring and loose bolts, all of which gave it the odd resemblance of a machinery graveyard and based upon this track record, his own bed was assumedly soon to become yet another statistic of Lloyd's mad scientist take over of the dorm.

Voicing his thoughts, Suzaku gave a pointed look to the pale-eyed scientist who for all his best efforts of trying to appear inconspicuous was no doubt eyeing up the sturdy little wooden bed. "You're not having it."

A dismissive wave answered him, Lloyd's nose turning up with a wrinkle of disgust that conveyed all of what he thought and wanted and was undoubtedly going to still try to achieve in the name of science. In this case, his fleeting lick of Icarus being no more than the monopolization of the floor space.

"We'll see about that," he said, voice cheerful and expression promising that he would only be that much happier if Suzaku had keeled over, died, and inexplicably became an organ donor - all in the name of science, of course, for only the best things were dedicated in such a manner. "Don't you have a little rebel buddy to call anyways?"

Suzaku groaned. That was a whole new plethora of problems upon dubious circumstances upon even more additional problems upon itself.

There was nothing more degrading for a rebel, or at least Suzaku assumed there wasn't based upon his limited experience of being one for the past month, than having to admit one's cover was blown - or, in his case, fractured into pieces that were haphazardly stuck together with the power of super glue and friendship.

Let it be known, that for all Kururugi Senior lamented upon the importance of honor and the transcendence of relationships, Suzaku couldn't help but be dubious that the same logic would apply to the blatantly self-seeking individual that Lloyd was.

Sure, a few gift-wrapped piles of junk with maybe an official contract thrown in there and Lloyd would undoubtedly join the merry band of Amnesty International for the sake of progress - of the scientific kind and not the social one; however, that went without saying. Yet, Suzaku couldn't necessarily see many of his fellow rebels, particularly the likes of Tamaki, gladly accepting a Britannian man who played by his own agenda and that wasn't even considering El's reaction. All asset-potential aside, Suzaku and Lloyd would probably face penalties ranging from standing in as Clovis's models to being outright murdered for being such a terribly disastrous liability.

Across the room, Lloyd had stilled, seemingly sensing the tension radiating off of Suzkau's form and uncharacteristically yet entirely in character at the same time, patted the Japanese young adult in a manner that was assumedly supposed to be comforting. "Awe, don't fret my little guinea pig. Even if they decide to kill us, being a political refugee means nothing when you have an all-powerful android upon your side."

He patted AG2 fondly, its head popping off upon contact and Suzaku was unable to hide his grimace. Somehow, such _reassuring_ words by his _endearingly empathetic_ roommate did little to ease his worries.

Resigned, he picked up his cellphone, Lloyd returning to his tinkering with a self-satisfied smirk, assuredly musing upon what a wonderfully helpful individual he was and how lucky Suzaku most certainly was to have him in his life.

In what was probably the most undignified moment of an already atrociously pathetic week, Suzaku's voice cracked mid-sentence, phone shaking from the trembling grip he had upon it.

"This is Suzaku Kururugi. I was told to call this line if any trouble was to arise."

For a brief second, he almost didn't think that anybody was going to respond, that within seconds a terribly young, obnoxious voice would scream out that he had the wrong number and a triad of Asain jokes would he launched at him and all would be right in the world.

Only one of those came to fruition and Suzkau almost dropped the phone as the impossibly high and unmistakably young candor of a child answered him.

"I'm listening."

* * *

The voice hadn't said much over the line and what was said had been brisk and as far from lethargic as one could be, yet, Suzkau had been able to infer a collection of minerals upon the hardened gem that was to be his alleged handler.

For one, the kid, for that was what he undoubtedly was, couldn't be any older than fifteen and carried a heavy fear for the government, to the point where he certainly didn't trust them enough to feel comfortable talking over the phone. Which, was how Suzkau found himself in a small hole-in-the-wall of an Italian restaurant whose monopolization of floor space with an overflowing abundance of flowery almost put Lloyd's own antics to shame never mind Clovis's.

He was mid sip in the surprisingly tangy espresso that the hostess had practically shoved down his throat, eyes full of pity as she gazed upon him with a look that only spoke of her assumption that he had been stood-up, when his enigmatic contact decided to make an appearance, sliding into the seat across from the Japanese boy with startling grace. Suzkau almost choked.

"You're a kid," he gasped out within coughs, the small slip of a boy in front of him appearing to be caught between amusement and annoyance.

"I'm fifteen," the Britannian stated with a shrug, if not a tad crossly. "And, seeing as how you were the one who needed my help, I don't believe you're exactly in a position to talk."

Suzkau dipped his head in embarrassment, thoroughly chagrined by the younger boy's words, an undoubtedly universal commonality between all adults and soon to be adults around the world when a child somehow got the best of them.

"I guess you have me there." Suzaku scratched his neck sheepishly, only being able to offer the weakest of smiles to his dining partner.

As it was, the boy seemed hardly deterred by the painfully awkward exchange, flinty mauve eyes looking eerily like crystallized camellias.

"Of course, I do. Now, could you please explain to me what was important enough for me to have to risk undermining my deep cover as mole within Britannia?"

His sharp words were matched by glinting teeth and a rather cruel smirk and Suzkau couldn't help but wonder if El had perhaps hired the anti-Christ himself to take up residence in the gleamingly gilded cage that Pendragon made.

It was with great hesitance, most of which was the result of the pint-sized equivalent of Lloyd's psychosis before him, that Suzkau issued his apology, all the while wondering what it was about him that drew in the psychos of Britannia like a homing mechanism. "I, ah, apologize for the inconvenience, Mr. -"

He trailed off, realizing that for all their brief five minute correspondence over the phone and incredibly uncomfortable beginnings of a lunch date, he was still unaware of his handler's name.

Fortunately, the man answered the question for him, voice as young and features as eerily youthful as ever as he delivered a name that only caused a multitude of questions to rain down upon him for the hellhole of a heavens that El so graciously called home.

"Lamperouge. Rolo, Lameperouge."

Suzkau stilled, because for all that the universe spited him, it couldn't truly be this cruel. "Rolo, as in Azalea's Rolo?" he questioned softly, mind tagging descriptive upon descriptive as it made a mad dash for lunacy because this couldn't be Rolo. The Rolo that was Azalea's Rolo that really couldn't be her Rolo because she never had a sibling never mind one that was named Rolo with eyes that belonged more so upon the face of Satan than a small slip of a boy that looked like a strong breeze could wipe his entire existence clean off the face of the Earth if it so wished.

"If by that you mean her current younger brother, than yes." The pink-eyed Britannian, now formally known as Rolo, responded as if it was the absolutely simplest thing in the world for him to be the enigmatic, mystery younger brother of the crown princess of Britannia.

Of course, it wasn't nearly as simple as that had made it out to be. No, not at all. If anything, his choice of words begged few questions, in particular, why their was such an emphasis upon 'current'.

For all that Suzaku didn't remember Rolo being within Azalea's life all those years ago, it was inconceivable for him to believe that the Britannian princess could be hoodwinked into loving a boy as a brother who never truly had any right to the roll to begin with.

Yet, despite this, there across from him sat Rolo Lamperouge, stoic expression upon his far too young face and a presence that claimed otherwise.

The question eventually tumbled out of Suzaku, curiosity proving to be a far greater force than self-control. "What do you mean by 'current'?"

"She's my mission," Rolo delivered, not even a crack made in his mask of professionalism.

Beneath them, the rickety table creaked ominously as if to warn Suzaku that he was treading upon dangerous territory. Fate, for once, perhaps sending him a warning sign before it delivered a maelstrom of chaos upon his head.

He ignored it.

"Why does she think you're her brother then?" He pressed and within Rolo's eyes something flashed, the faintest flicker of something more than this dwindling existence and rather a transcendent black hole that was to be the abyss. It disappeared just as quickly as it came, yet Suzaku couldn't shake the feeling that he had, for but a brief moment, brushed against God.

But, the defensive edge hidden beneath the pretense of apathy within Rolo's voice betrayed his humanity. "Because, as of now, I am." His gaze heavy upon the Japanese boy harnessing a weight that no child deserved to wield. "As your handler I will help you, but if you do anything detrimental to the mission or her, I will not hesitate to handle El's personal clean up duty. There are things in the works that you do not know and can only ever dream of."

It went unsaid who he meant by 'her', but Suzaku required no explanation. It had always been Azalea, even when she was no longer a part his life and hadn't been for years on end, when things boiled to their core it had always been her.

Suzaku didn't need to wax poetry to conceive such a notion. No, that would only be admitting something he wasn't quite prepared to admit, something that was to stay locked away within the depths between his heart and soul like all good secrets were to be buried.

He forced a smile upon his face and the words come out bitter and sharp as they slide down his throat. "I understand."

Rolo dipped his head. "I trust that the Britannian scientist will not become a hindrance?"

"Of course not."

"And you will return with him for weekly check-ups until it can be determined how much of a liability he is?"

Shrewd pink eyes gazed across at him from the ocean of a divide the table made and Suzaku felt the need to speak up, to say something in the behalf of Lloyd who despite all probable reasoning had yet to turn him in.

"I'd argue those meetings will prove just how much of an asset he is." His voice was sharp.

The slightest of smiles slid across the face of a child who had enough frown lines to laugh a lifetime, Rolo standing up as if he was dismissig Suzaku, half-hearted gesture of a pleasantry thrown haphazardly over his shoulder.

"We'll see about that Mr. Kuguguri." The barest hint of a pause between thoughts arose. "And, just so you know, Azalea has been meaning to ask you over for dinner, so I'm sure we'll have more time to discuss then. Until next time, which I can only assume will be far sooner than either of us imagine."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Less than a month between updates? Dang, I'm on a roll. Of course, the quality of these updates is undeniably questionable, however I'm just happy that content is being pushed through. Next chapter should feature the delightful dinner between Suzaku, Lloyd, Rolo, and Azalea, so stay tuned for that. Who's your favorite character so far?


End file.
